UC-NRLF 


B    3    TDS    315 


LIBRARY 

UNJVERHTY    OF 


PRACTICAL    TREATISE 


MANURES. 


FROM    THE 


RECENT  PUBLICATION   OF  THE  BRITISH    SOCIETY   FOR 
THE  DIFFUSION  OF  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE  ; 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES  BY  THE  AMERICAN  EDITOR. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

E.    S.    JONES   &  C  0 

S.  W.  CORNER  FOURTH  &  RACE  STS. 
1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by 
E.    S.  JONES    &    CO, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States, 
in  and  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


FEINTED  BY  T.  K.  A  P.  G.  COLUNS, 
NO.  1  LODGE  ALLEY. 


UBHARY 


PREFACE 


The  British  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful 
Knowledge,  was  established  about  the  year  1825,  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing  a  series  of  books  in  various 
branches  of  science,  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
public  than  the  old  treatises,  or  the  compilations  by 
authors  but  little  acquainted  with  the  subjects  which 
they  endeavored  to  discuss. 

The  Society  published  a  series  of  maps,  and  various 
treatises  upon  Natural  Philosophy,  History,  Mathema- 
tics, and  other  subjects.  To  these  treatises  the  general 
title  of  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge  was  given,  and 
in  the  course  of  their  publication  it  was  found  expedient 
to  issue  works  of  a  different  character,  especially  adapted 
to  the  agricultural  interests,  and  to  this  portion  of  the 
"  Library"  the  title  of  '^  The  Farmer's  Series"  was  given. 
Among  the  works  in  this  department  were  published 
Youatt's  works  on  the  Horse — Cattle — Sheep — and  the 
Dog;  treatises  on  British  Husbandry^  Flemish  Hus- 
handry,  and  the  present  treatise  on  Manures,  all  of 
which  acquired  a  wide-spread  reputation. 

The  subject  to  which  this  volume  is  devoted  is  an 
(3) 


umzim 


4  PREFACE. 

important  one  to  farmers  and  gardeners,  as  mucli  of 
their  success  must  depend  upon  their  acquaintance  with 
the  various  fertilizing  agents,  and  the  modes  and  circum- 
stances of  their  employment. 

Judicious  manuring  alone  will  prevent  farms  from 
gradually  deteriorating,  or  wearing  out  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  be  unj&t  for  cultivation.  Deterioration  <under  an 
improper  mode  of  cropping  and  manuring,  may  pro- 
ceed so  slowly  that  it  cannot  be  detected  except  by 
keeping  regular  farm  accounts,  and  comparing  the  pro- 
duce of  the  same  field  at  distant  intervals,  and  under 
the  same  crop. 

In  the  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners, 
in  1851,  on  the  subject  of  an  Agricultural  School,  the 
following  facts  are  stated  : 

'Already  the  exhaustive  process  of  perpetual  crop- 
ping has  travelled  over  the  once  fertile  lands  of  New 
England,  and  in  its  desolating  march  is  wending  its  way 
over  the  fair  fields  of  New  York,  Ohio,  and  on  to  the  ^ar 
West.  Under  the  influence  of  this  system  of  cultivation, 
the  crops  of  wheat  in  these  States  have  receded  from 
an  average  of  twenty-two  bushels  to  fourteen  bushels,  or 
less,  per  acre;  and  the  same  remark  will  apply  to  other 
crops,  in  like  ratio  of  reduction. 

''From  this  sad,  but  common  error,  Europe  is  just 
recovering ;  and,  under  the  influence  of  her  agricultural 
schools,  now  scattered  all  over  the  continent,  and  of 
scientific  cultivation,  her  crop  of  wheat  in  many  parts  has 
advanced  from  sixteen  bushels  to  an  average  of  over  thirty 
bushels  per  acre ;  and  a  similar  increase  has  taken  place 
in  other  crops.     Wonders  have  also  been   achieved  in 


PREFACE.  5 

reclaiming  waste  lands,  and  in  converting  those  which 
were  harren  and  worthless,  into  rich  and  productive 
farms. '^ 

These  considerations  are  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
those  who  wish  to  improve  their  land,  or  to  keep  it  from 
becoming  worse.  It  is  worthy  of  the  attention  not  only  of 
the  proprietor  of  the  soil,  but  of  legislators,  and  all  who 
wish  to  transmit  an  undiminished  legacy  to  their  poste- 
rity, and  particularly  to  the  proprietors  of  small  farms, 
these  being  more  under  control, — capable  of  being  better 
worked, — and  having  many  advantages  over  such  exten- 
sive tracts  as  are  but  half  worked  and  half  manured — 
producing  limited  crops  at  great  expense.  The  same 
remark  may  be  extended  to  gardens,  particularly  such 
as  are  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  raising  vegetables 
for  profit. 

Manure  comprehends  all  animal,  vegetable,  and  mine- 
ral substances,  which  promote  the  growth  of  vegetation  j 
and  the  number  of  these  is  so  great,  that  at  first  view 
the  reader  of  a  treatise  on  the  subject  is  likely  to  be 
confounded  by  a  first  attempt  to  make  a  selection  from 
them.  But  he  will  soon  find  the  list  diminished  by  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed.  The  use  of  fish  or 
sea-weed,  for  example,  is  restricted  to  those  who  live 
within  reach  of  them  3  green  sand,  or  green  sand  marl, 
(which  is  a  valuable  fertilizer  on  account  of  its  potash, 
iron,  and  in  some  cases,  lime,)  is  mostly  confined  in  its  use 
to  those  parts  of  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Delaware,  and 
Virginia,  which  produce  it ;  and  those  who  do  not  live 
near  large  towns  cannot  readily  procure  the  ofials  derived 
from  certain  manufactories.  When  sand  cannot  be  pro- 
A2 


6  PREFACE. 

cured  to  improve  a  hard  clay  soil,  the  vicinity  of  saw- 
mills will  often  supply  a  substitute  in  saw  dust,  but  as 
some  is  rather  acid,  it  should  be  corrected  by  composting 
with  the  aid  of  lime,  or  by  not  using  it  until  it  has  been 
exposed  some  time  to  the  weather. 

A  reference  to  the  abstract  of  the  Contents  will  give 
the  reader  a  better  idea  of  the  scope  of  this  Treatise, 
than  any  account  which  can  be  given  within  the  limits 
of  a  preface. 


CONTENTS, 


PSEFACE, 


PAGE 

-     iv 


CHAPTER  I. 


Manure,  Nature  and  properties 

-      5 

Distinction  of         - 

-       6 

Vegetable  and  Animal 

-       6 

Fossil  or  Mineral  Manures 

-      7 

CHAPTER  n. 

Manure,  Putrescent 

-      9 

Farm  yard              -            -            -            . 

-    11 

Horse  dung             -            -            - 

-     11 

Horned  cattle  dung 

-     12 

Sheep  dung 

-     13 

Swines  dung          .             .            -            . 

-     14 

Urine          -            -            -            -       . 

-     15 

Straw          -            .            -            -            . 

-     16 

Yards  and  sheds 

-     19 

Preservation  of  dung 

-    21 

Preparation            -            -            - 

-    24 

Management           -            -            - 

-     30 

Turning  dung         -            -            - 

-    34 

Long  dung              -            -            -            . 

-     35 

Produce  of  straw  and  dung 

-    46 

Compost 

-     48 

Application  of  dung 

-     51 

Spreading  of  dung 

.     56 

Vlll 


Manure,  Putrescent 
Night-soil 
Liquid 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Manure,  Mineral 
Chalk 
Lime 

Application  of  lime 
Qualities  and  quantity  of  lime 
Lime  kilns 
Compost  and  lime 

'  CHAPTER  V. 

Manure,  Mineral      -  -  - 

Marl 

Clayey  marl 
Sandy  marl 
Slaty  or  stony  marl 
Shelly 
Earth 
Application  of       - 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Manure,  Mineral 
Gypsum 


CHAPTER  Vn. 


Manure,  Mineral 
Ashes 
Soot 
Soapers'  waste 


CHAPTER  Vni. 


Manure,  Mineral 
Paring 


PAGE 

-  62 

-  62 

-  66 


77 
77 
79 
85 
94 
102 
103 


-  105 

-  105 

-  107 

-  107 

-  108 

-  108 

-  108 
.  Ill 


115 
115 


124 
124 
127 
128 


129 
129 


CO  N  T  E  N  T  S.  ix 

PAGE 

Burning      -  -  -  -  -  129 

Operation  of  paring  -  -  -  -  131 

Operation  of  burning  ....  132 

Effects  of  paring  and  burning       -  -  -  135 

Expense  of  ditto  -  -  .  .  135 

Success  of  ditto  ....  137 

Application  of  ditto    '       -  -  •  -  138 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Manure,  Mineral  .....  139 

Burnt  clay               .  .            -            -            .  I39 

Analysis  of  same  ....  141 

Effects  of  same       -  -            -            -            .  142 

Clay  kilns                -  .            -            .            .  144 

Burning  earth  in  heaps  ....  147 

Burning  earth  with  lime  -            -            -            -  148 

Application  of  same  .            -            .            .  149 

CHAPTER  X. 

Manure,  Mineral  -  -  .  -  -  150 

Salt  -  -  -  -  -  -  150 

Application  of  salt  ....  152 

Nitre  ......  15Q 

Application  of  nitre  .....  157 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Manure,  Miscellaneous         .  .  -  -  -  153 

Bones  ...--.  153 

Effects  of  bone  dust  and  bones     -  -  -  159 

Composts  of  bone  .  -  -  -  165 

Application  of  bones  -  -  -  -  167 

CHAPTER  Xn, 

Manure,  Miscellaneous        -  -  -  ^  -  169 

Green  crops  -  -  -  -  169 

CHAPTER  Xni. 

Manure,  Miscellaneous        ...  -  -  172 

Oil  cake  and  rape  -  --      "    -  -  172 

Malt  dust  .-  -'  -  -  174 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Manure,  Miscellaneous 
Peat  moss 
Composts  of  same 
Application  of  same 


PAGE 

.  176 

-  176 

-  177 

-  180 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Manure,  Miscellaneous 
Sea-ware 
Kelp 

Refuse  fish 
Blubber  and  train  oil 


180 
181 
181 
182 
183 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Manure,  Miscellaneous 

Fellmongers'  poake  and  cuttings 

Tanners'  bark 

Woolen  rags 

Furriers'  clippings 

Sugar  scum 

Guano        -  .  . 


1.83 

184 
185 
185 
185 
186 
186 


CHAPTER  XVn. 


Manure, 


Miscellaneous 
Clay  mud 
Sand  ditto 
Pond  ditto 
River  ditto 
Sea    ditto 


187 
187 
187 
189 
191 
191 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Manure,  In  general 
Putrescent 
Mineral 
Miscellaneous 
Summary 


192 
192 
197 
199 
201 


A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

ON    MANURES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON    THE   NATURE    AND    PKOPERTIES   OF   MANURE. 

Though  manuring  has  been  generally  practised  wherever 
cultivation  has  been  attended  to,  its  principles  are  still  but 
vaguely  understood,  and  the  best  adaptation  to  various  soils  of 
the  different  articles  of  which  it  consists  is  far  from  being  ac- 
curately ascertained.  Yet,  although  it  be  true  that  chemical 
research  into  the  component  parts  of  soils  and  manures  has 
not  reached  any  positive  conclusion  respecting  their  effects 
upon  the  growth  of  vegetables,  still  it  is  certain  that  the 
principles  on  which  they  are  nourished  depend  altogether 
upon  chemistry ;  and  agriculture,  in  its  modern  improved 
state,  has  led  with  considerable  precision  to  a  knowledge  of 
those  laws  of  vegetation  by  which  we  are  enabled  to  ameliorate 
the  land,  and  to  increase  the  quantity,  as  well  as  to  improve 
the  quality  of  its  productions.  The  farmer,  who  applies  a 
peculiar  species  of  manure,  which  has  been  found  beneficial 
to  his  ground,  being  himself  ignorant  of  chemistry,  only 
follows  the  practice  of  his  predecessors  or  neighbors;  but 
while  he  sneers  at  the  theorist  who  would  direct  his  attention 
to  the  study  of  the  first  principles  of  his  art,  both  he,  and 
those  whom  he  follows,  were  probably  originally  indebted  for 
that  practice  to  the  observations  of  men  of  science. 

No  one  who  is  at  all  conversant  with  the  subject  of  manure 
can  be  ignorant  that,  notwithstanding  the  management  of  in- 
telligent husbandmen,  a  great  want  of  knowledge  prevails 
among  the  common  run  of  farmers  regarding  the  best  modes 
of  its  preparation  and  application.  In  making  this  remark, 
we  do  not,  however,  mean  to  allude  to  the  deficiency  of 
chemical  knowledge,  which,  however  valuable,  is  but  little 
within  the  scope  of  the  mere  farmer ;  nor  do  we  intend  to 

(5) 


6  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

convey  instruction  by  abstruse  disquisitions  or  fine-spun  theo- 
ries, respecting  the  food  of  plants,  or  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  nourished  ;  but  we  think  that  a  few  remarks  on  the 
nature  and  properties  of  manure  may  properly  precede  the 
practical  details  of  its  application  to  the  soil,  and  will  not  be 
unfavorably  received  even  by  men  whose  superior  experience 
does  not  seem  to  need  such  information. 

Distinction  of  Manures.  —Cultivation  consists  of  two  dis- 
tinct objects,  of  which  one  comprehends  the  mechanical  labor 
bestowed  upon  the  soil,  and  the  other  is  composed  of  the 
chemical  application  of  manures,  which  either  directly  com- 
municate the  nutriment  which  they  convey  to  plants,  or  which 
assist  vegetation  by  promoting  the  active  powers  of  the  soil, 
and  of  those  substances  with  which  it  may  be  combined.  It 
is  well  known  that,  when  plants  are  continually  reaped  from 
off  the  land,  the  soil  in  time  becomes  exhausted,  and  then  it 
becomes  necessary  to  restore  the  waste  which  has  taken  place 
by  a  supply  of  matter  either  affording  direct  nourishment  or 
stimulating  the  power  of  the  soil.  These  substances,  being 
mixed  with  the  ground  by  the  action  of  the  plough,  are  termed 
manure. 

All  vegetable  and  animal  substances  which  become  decom- 
posed, or  putrid,  contain  the  necessary  elements  for  the  repro- 
duction of  the  plants  which  we  cultivate,  provided  they  be 
duly  mixed  in  just  proportions  with  the  soil,  and  that  they  be 
reduced  to  no  more  than  a  certain  degree  of  putrefaction,  by 
which  they  can  be  applied  to  the  land  in  a  beneficial  state  as 
manure.  It  is  for  the  most  part  composed  of  straw  which  has 
served  as  litter  to  animals,  and  which,  being  impregnated  witli 
their  dung  and  urine,  and  thrown  into  heaps,  is  thus  suffered 
to  heat,  ferment,  and  rot.  The  mould  produced  by  the  decom- 
position of  vegetables  appears,  however,  to  act  more  slowly, 
but  yet  more  durably,  as  the  aliment  of  plants,  than  that 
which  has  been  produced  by  passing  through  the  bodies  of 
animals,  which  latter  not  only  operates  more  promptly  as 
i.ourishment,  but  also  acts  directly  upon  the  sap,  to  the  mani- 
fest vigour  of  their  growth.  The  great  object  of  these  ma- 
nures should  be  to  make  them  afford  as  much  soluble  matter 
as  possible  to  the  roots  of  the  plant,  and  that  in  a  gradual 
manner,  so  that  it  may  be  entirely  consumed  in  forming  the 
sap.  Those  substances  which  in  their  nature  partake  of 
mucilaginous,  gelatinous,  or  saccharine  matter,  of  oily  and 
extractive  fluids,  and  of  solutions  of  carbonic  acid  in  water,  all 


ON  MANURES.  7 

contain  in  their  unchanged  states  most  of  the  principles  which 
conduce  to  the  life  of  plants;  but  there  are  few  cases  in  which 
they  can  be  applied  to  their  production  in  a  pure  form,  for  vege- 
table manures  in  general  contain  a  portion  of  fibrous,  woody,  and 
insoluble  matter,  which  must  undergo  some  chemical  change 
before  they  can  be  converted  to  the  purposes  of  vegetation. 

Fossil  or  mineral  manures,  though  not  containing  nutritive 
matter,*  yet  materially  assist  in  the  development  of  the  powers 
of  the  soil,  and  in  the  decomposition  of  other  substances  con- 
tained in  it,  which  they  combine  in  a  manner  which  enables 
plants  to  appropriate  the  kind  of  nourishment  best  adapted  to 
their  growth,  and  thus  promotes  vegetation.  As  the  soil,  how- 
ever, is  of  infinite  variety,  so  the  nature  of  these  manures  re- 
quires more  care  and  discrimination  in  their  application  than 
those  composed  of  vegetable  and  animal  matter ;  for  an  excess 
of  the  latter  can  only  occasion  immediate  rankness  in  the 
present  crop,  while  an  undue  proportion  of  the  former  may  for 
a  long  lime  be  productive  of  very  serious  injury  to  the  land. 

Tiie  action  of  manure  upon  the  soil  is  commonly  expressed 
by  saying,  '  that  it  fertilizes  the  land ;'  and  that  is  generally 
deemed  sufficiently  intelligible  to  common  comprehension;  but 
it  is  of  great  importance  to  both  the  theory  and  the  practice  of 
agriculture  to  disthiguish  the  properties  and  the  mode  of  appli- 
cation by  which  each  of  these  manures  is  made  productive  of 
that  eftect ;  and  it  is  only  by  means  of  an  acquaintance  with 
their  composition  that  we  can  form  any  safe  conclusion  regard- 
ing their  respective  merits.  Besides  the  distinction  already 
drawn  between  the  vegetable,  animal,  and  mineral  substances, 
manures  of  the  same  kind  in  some  cases  act  difi^erently, — in 
the  one  resisting  putrefaction,  and  in  the  other  promoting  it. 
Among  the  former  are  several  species  of  salts,  formed  from  the 
ashes  of  burnt  vegetables,  the  dung  of  fowls,  that  of  horses  in 
wjme  states  of  preparation,  and  quicklime.  Among  the  latter 
are  certain  salts  found  in  calcareous  earths;  liiT^;?,  which,  after 
liaving  been  burnt  and  allowed  to  rest  during  a  few  months, 
converts  all  the  putrescible  matter  contained  in  the  soil  into  a 
scrt  of  mucilage;  and  horse-litter,  which,  when  in  a  forward 
state,  becoines  a  stimulant  from  the  salts  contained  in  it,  and 
thus  also  promotes  putrefaction.  It  must  also  be  observed, 
tiiat   several  of  these    manures   acquire  different   properties 


*  Lime,  however,  though  not  considered   nutritive,  yet  forms,  in  very 
minute  portions,  a  component  part  of  plants  and  the  bones  of  anLmals. 
B 


8  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

when  combined  with  other  substances,  and  in  other  stages  of 
preparation,  from  those  of  which  tliey  were  possessed  in  a 
simple  state. 

The  process  of  fermentation  likewise  requires  extreme  care, 
and  is  an  object  very  imperfectly  understood.  It  is  often  con- 
founded with  that  ebullition,  or  hissing-  noise,  which  may  be 
noticed  when  limestone  or  other  alkaline  matter  is  mixed  with 
vinegar  or  other  acids ;  but  this  effervescence  is  merely  oc- 
casioned by  the  escape  of  fixed  air,  (carbonic  acid  gas  )  and 
thoug-h  the  word  'fermentation'  may  be  retained  in  compliance 
with  common  usage,  it  has  nothing  in  unison  with  those  opera- 
tions which  are  properly  termed  the  vinous,  the  acetous,  and 
the  putrefactive  Jfer mentations. 

Of  these,  the  first  causes  the  sweet  materials  to  become 
spirituous,  though  the  latter  quality  applies  more  particularly 
to  the  juices  of  fruits ;  the  second  occasions  a  sourness,  which 
in  liquids  produces  vinegar;  and  the  third  is  productive  of 
putrefaction. 

During  the  process  of  fermentation,  as  applied  to  manure,  it 
heats,  after  more  or  less  time,  according  to  its  contents,  and  at 
last  it  is  converted  into  mucilage  and  salts.  The  latter  part 
of  this  operation  is  the  most  important,  for  it  requires  great 
care  to  ascertain,  by  mixing  the  whole  mass  well  together, 
that  every  part  of  it  is  in  the  same  state  of  fermentation,  lest 
some  parts  of  it  should  reach  the  last  stage — which  produces 
salts — before  the  other  portion  has  become  mucilaginous, — an 
accident  which  frequently  happens  when  lime  is  laid  among 
dung  without  being  well  mixed  throughout  the  heap,  by  which 
much  of  its  benefit  is  lost,  as  it  acts  as  a  stimulant,  and  becomes 
hurtful  if  not  used  in  a  very  small  proportion. 

The  materials  of  which  the  first-mentioned  of  these  manures 
are  chiefly  composed,  are  stable-dung  and  litter,  urine,  night- 
soil,  and  all  weeds  or  other  vegetable  substances  which  can 
be  converted  into  muck,  together  with  the  putrid  remains  of 
animals  and  fish — which  may  be  all  classed  under  the  common 
name  o'l  putrescent  manures. 

Then  chalk,  lime,  marl,  gypsum,  shells,  ashes,  soapers'  waste, 
and  burnt  clay,  which,  being  fossil,  or  of  the  nature  of  fossil 
substances,  fall  under  the  denomination  of  mineral  manures. 

And  lastly,  green  crops  ploughed  down,  as  well  as  tlie 
various  articles  made  use  of^  as  top-dressings  and  composts, 
which  may  be  generally  designated  as  JuisccWu/eous  manures. 

These  will  become  the  subject  of  separate  chapters ;  but  it 


ON  MANURES.  9 

is  not  proposed  to  enter  into  any  philosophical  discussion  re- 
garding- their  powers,  the  consideration  of  which  will  be  con- 
fined to  a  practical  view  of  their  nature  and  operation.  The 
farmer  who  has  a  large  portion  of  them  at  command  will  find 
in  their  alternate  and  judicious  employment  the  certain  means 
of  increasing  the  usual  products  of  the  soil ;  and  his  success, 
as  a  husbandman,  will  doubtless  be  in  proportion  to  his  intelli- 
gence, and  to  the  attention  bestowed  upon  its  cultivation. 
The  importance  to  be  attached  to  an  acquaintance  with  the 
principles  of  vegetation,  and  the  application  of  manures,  can- 
not therefore  but  be  sensibly  felt  by  every  man  who  sets  a  due 
value  either  upon  his  character  for  ability  in  his  profession,  or 
upon  his  pecuniary  interest ;  and,  with  the  intention  of  facili- 
tating its  study,  we  add  a  brief  explanation  of  the  common 
terms  employed  in  this  branch  of  chemistry.  Our  object, 
however,  being  merely  to  be  useful  to  persons  who  are 
strangers  to  that  science,  and  being  aware  of  the  prejudice 
already  existing  against  it  in  the  minds  of  those  who  are  un- 
informed of  its  value,  we  have  abstained  from  any  thing 
beyond  a  slight  sketch,  or  from  employing  any  other  than 
those  phrases  which  may  be  rendered  easily  intelligible  to 
persons  of  the  plainest  education  and  understanding. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON    PUTRESCENT    MANURES. FARM-YARD    DUNG. 

Putrescent  manures,  as  we  have  already  seen,  consist  of 
all  animal  and  vegetable  substances  which  can  be  reduced 
through  decomposition,  fermentation,  and  putrefaction,  into 
such  a  state  as  will  render  them  fit  to  assist  the  melioration 
of  the  land,  and  to  forward  the  purposes  of  vegetation.  When 
combined,  they  form  a  saponaceous,  solid  mass  of  great  nutri- 
tive power,  well  known  to  farmers  under  the  common  term 
of '  muck  ;'  which,  although  a  seemingly  uncouth  expression, 
conveys  an  idea  distinct  from  that  which  is  meant  by  dung. 
Of  these,  the  most  generally  usefiil  are  composed  of  the  ex- 
crements of  animals ;  for  that  which  passes  through  them  is 
not  composed  alone  of  tiie  residue  of  their  food,  but  also  of  cer- 
tam  secretions  of  other  matter  in  the  intestinal  canal ;  so  that 


10  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  dung",  even  of  those  wliich  are  supported  entirely  on  veg'e- 
tables,  partakes  more  of  an  animal  than  of  a  vef^etabie  nature. 
The  food  on  which  they  are  supported,  and  their  state  of  flesh, 
also  make  an  essential  difference  in  tlie  quality  of  the  manure. 
If  the  stomach  of  an  animal  be  filled  with  provision  which  con- 
tains but  little  nutriment,  and  which  is  composed  of  fibrous 
matter  which  it  is  difficult  to  decompose — for  instance,  straw 
alone,  without  grain — this  will  pass  through  the  intestines  in 
almost  the  same  state  as  it  was  eaten.  The  dung  will  contain 
less  of  that  secretion  which  belongs  to  animals  whose  flesh  has 
not  been  deprived  of  its  nourishing'  juices;  though  even  this 
small  quantity  serves  to  give  the  straw  a  stimulus  to  putre- 
faction. But  the  excrement  of  animals  which  have  been  sup- 
ported upon  nutritive  food — as  corn  and  pulse,  or  the  oleaginous 
seeds  of  rape  and  linseed,  though  given  in  the  shape  of  cake — 
and  which  are  thus  maintained  in  high  condition,  imbibes  much 
of  that  property  to  which  we  have  alluded,  which  tiiereby 
yields  a  more  fertilizing  manure  than  that  furnished  by  lean 
stock.  This,  indeed,  is  strikingly  exemplified  by  the  difierence 
observable  in  that  produced  by  stall-fed  cattle,  and  those  kept 
in  the  straw  yard ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  fatter 
the  animal,  the  richer  will  be  its  dung.* 

It  has  been  thought  that  the  dung  of  ruminant  animals — 
oxen  and  sheep — when  pastured,  is  preferable  to  that  of  horses, 
also  kept  at  grass,  which  is  supposed  to  be  owing  to  the  greater 
quantity  of  animal  juices  secreted  with  their  food  in  tlie  act  of 
chewing ;  but  the  fact  requires  to  be  established  by  a  more 
minute  and  critical  analysis  of  its  properties.  All  animal 
manure,  however,  partakes  in  its  fertilizing  properties  of  the 
richness  of  the  food  by  which  it  has  been  created ;  yet  expe- 
rience proves  that  its  immediate  powers  are  in  several  in- 
stances widely  different.  Thus  the  ordure  of  a  man  and  that 
of  a  dog,  though  fed  upon  tlie  same  food,  is  so  wholly  distinct 
in  its  effects,  that  the  excrement  of  the  latter  is  used  instead 
of  bark  in  the  process  of  tanning  goat-skins  for  the  production 
of  morocco  leather.  Pigeon's  dung,  too,  is  hotter  than  that 
of  other  fowls, j  though  both  are  fed  alike ;  and  it  is  said  that 


*lt  is  stated  in  the  Norfolk  Report,  that  10  loads  of  dun?  from  cattle  fed 
upon  oil-cuke,  have  been  found  to  answer  as  well  as  16  from  beasts  fed 
upon  turnips.— p.  '120. 

t  By  an  experiment  stated  in  the  Agricultural  Magazino,  it  was  found  that 
the  dung  of  hens  was  more  etR-ctual  than  that  of  ducks ;  while  that  of 
geese  was  scarcely  perceptible  aa  manure. 


ON  MANURES.  U 

a  celebrated  foreign  chemist — M.  Vauquelin — has  not  only 
lately  discovered  a  very  remarkable  difference  between  the 
dung-  of  cocks  and  hens,  but  that  there  also  exists  a  sensible 
distinction  between  that  of  hens  which  lay,  and  of  those  which 
do  not  produce  eggs !  However  deserving-  those  researches 
may  be  of  inquiry,  and  however  important  they  may  hereafter 
prove,  if  followed  up  with  regard  to  the  larger  animals,  it 
would  yet  be  difficult,  and  periiaps,  under  all  circumstances, 
unnecessary,  to  state  the  differences  of  the  comparative  cha- 
racter and  value  of  these  and  various  other  putrescible  bodies — 
such  as  fish,  spoiled  flesh,  and  many  other  substances,  which, 
though  all,  no  doubt,  useful  to  vegetation,  when  they  can  be 
procured  on  such  terms  as  that  the  farmer  finds  they  can  be 
profitably  applied  to  his  purpose,  are  yet  seldom  found  in  such 
abundance  as  to  require  a  separate  account  of  the  properties 
of  each.  We  therefore  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  pursue 
that  portion  of  the  subject  farther,  and  shall  accordingly  pro- 
ceed to  the  consideration  of  that  compound  of  Vegetable  and 
animal  substance  so  well  known  under  the  title  of 

Farm-yard  Manure. — This  must  ever  be  ranked  in  the  first 
class ;  and  when  improved  yards  have  been  constructed  for  the 
soiling  of  cattle,  and  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  quality  as 
well  as  the  increase  of  their  dung,  the  manure  thus  produced 
becomes  of  inestimable  value.  No  husbandman  can  carry  on 
his  busmess  without  it,  and  every  one  who  attends  for  a 
moment  to  the  difficulty  of  procuring  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
dung,  as  well  as  of  preparing  what  is  got,  will  acknowledge, 
that  however  imperfectly  the  subject  be  understood,  none  is 
more  deserving  of  serious  investigation;  yet  even  the  most 
superficial  observer  on  the  common  state  of  culture  can  hardly 
fail  to  remark,  that  the  evident  inattention  to  its  management 
is  such  as  would  almost  lead  to  the  supposition  that  it  is  not 
worth  the  pains  of  the  farmer's  care.  Nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  to  see  large  heaps  of  manure' thrown  out  from  the 
stables  and  feeding-sheds,  and  exposed  in  that  state  to  the 
weather,  without  any  regard  to  its  being  laid  up  in  a  regular 
and  careful  manner,  secured  from  evaporation,  or  carefiilly 
mixed  in  different  proportions  according  to  its  various  quali- 
ties; yet  these  proportions  are  severally  of  a  very  distinct  and 
important  nature. 

When  horse-dung-  is  sufficiently  moist,  and  is  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  air,  it  speedily  enters  into  a:  state  of  fer- 
mentation, which  is  necessary  to  mix  and  assimilate  its  watery, 


12  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

oily  and  saline  parts;  but  if  care  be  not  taken  in  that  process, 
it  exhales  so  much  heat  that  it  soon  becomes  dried  up,  its 
volatile  particles  are  evaporated,  and  it  easily  crumbles.  If 
the  parts  of  which  it  is  composed  are  not  also  so  compactly 
heaped  as  to  exclude  the  air,  they  become  likewise  unequally 
decomposed,  grow  mouldy,  and  the  whole  mass  is  thus  deprived 
of  much  of  its  fertilizing  power.  If,  however,  the  natural  moist- 
ure be  retained,  or  it  be  regularly  and  moderately  wetted,  it 
acquires  almost  the  consistence  of  a  paste,  or  that  state  which 
is  called  spit-dung ;  and  if  it  be  laid  upon  the  land  before  it 
is  entirely  decomposed,  its  effects  upon  vegetation  are  prompt 
and  powerful ;  which  is  partly  to  be  attributed  to  the  heat 
which  is  developed  anew,  when,  after  being  ploughed  under 
the  soil,  its  decomposition  is  completed.  This  occasions  it  to 
act  with  singular  efficacy  upon  lands  which  are  cold  and 
clayey,  the  faults  of  which  it  tends  greatly  to  correct,  and  the 
soil  is  much  benefited.  It  also  greatly  improves  land  which 
abounds  in  vegetable  mould,  because  the  ammonia  contained 
in  the  manure  favours  its  decomposition. 

When  completely  decomposed,  and  thus  reduced  to  the  con- 
dition of  rotten  dung,  it  is  much  lessened  in  quantity,  but  that 
residue  contains  the  essential  part  of  its  substance,  which  is 
highly  favourable  to  vegetation  on  land  of  every  kind  with 
which  it  is  incorporated.  In  this  state,  however,  it  is  often 
productive  of  bad  efl^ects  upon  dry,  sandy,  chalky,  or  other 
light  and  calcareous  soils ;  for  there  it  stimulates  the  plants 
too  powerfully  at  the  first  period  of  their  growth,  so  that 
when  the  action  of  the  dung  has  ceased,  vegetation  becomes 
languid ;  in  corn  crops  great  bulk  of  straw  is  produced,  but  the 
grain  is  apt  to  be  deficient.  It  also  less  durable,  because  it  is 
consumed  by  the  excess  of  its  own  fermentation,  and  iis  powers 
being  thus  exhausted,  it  has  but  little  effect  upon  the  fixture 
crops  en  such  land. 

The  dung  of  liorntd  cattle  also  soon  ferments  when  it  is  col- 
lected into  a  heap,  and  is  only  moistened  by  its  own  humidity ; 
but  this  process  is  slower  than  in  the  dung  of  horses,  because 
it  is  not  so  much  exposed  to  the  same  internal  heat,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  evaporation  is  less,  and  being  ordinarily 
voided  in  a  very  moist  state,  it  does  not  require  to  be  wetted. 
Neither  is  it  subject  to  crumble ;  but  it  rather  becomes  a  mass 
of  unctuous  substance,  which  it  retains  until  its  moisture  is 
entirely  exhausted,  when  it  assumes  the  appearance  of  dried 
peat,  or  turf,  and,  when  not  well  mixed  with  the  earth,  it  is 


ON  MANURES.  13 

found  in  the  land  in  clods  sometimes  so  long  as  two  or  Uiree 
years  ai"ter  it  has  been  laid  on.  Its  effect  upon  the  soil  is 
slower  tiian  that  of  horse-dung :  it  has  been  also  considered 
more  durable ;  but,  as  we  have  already  observed,  this  latter 
effect  must  in  a  great  measure  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the 
food  by  w^hich  it  has  been  produced.  Whatever  may  be 
the  degree  of  fermentation  at  which  it  has  arrived,  it  does 
not  seem  to  occasion  any  perceptible  heat  when  laid  upon 
the  land ;  for  which  reason  it  is  best  adapted  to  dry  and  warm 
soils.  Thus,  upon  sands  and  gravels,  which,  from  their  nature 
are  apt  to  be  hot,  its  cooling  qualities  counteract  that  effect, 
and  upon  such  land  it  has  been  found  of  infinite  service ;  but 
upon  strong  clays,  it  appears  to  be  nearly  inoperative  if  buried 
under  the  ground,  and  not  exposed  to  contact  with  the  atmo- 
sphere by  repeated  ploughings.  When  used  alone,  it  has, 
however,  been  considered,  in  most  instances,  as  nearly  worth* 
less  ;*  and  the  most  advantageous  mode  of  employing  it  is  to 
form  it  into  a  compost  with  the  other  contents  of  the  farm-yard. 
It  has  also  been  tliought  that  the  dung  of  milch  cows  is  inferior 
to  that  of  oxen  ;  but  this  can  only  be  attributed  to  their  yield 
of  milk,  which  probably  deprives  it  of  some  portion  of  its  rich- 
ness, and  when  they  are  dried  off  and  fattened,  there  is  no 
perceptible  difference. 

Sheep-dung  decomposes  quickly  when  it  is  moist  and  com- 
pactly heaped  together ;  but  when  dry  and  dispersed,  its  de- 
composition is  slow  and  imperfect.  Its  effect  upon  the  soil  is 
soon  dissipated,  and  is  generally  exhausted  after  a  second  crop. 
Much  ammonia  is  disengaged  from  the  excrements,  and  more 
especially  from  the  urine  of  sheep,  and  this  renders  their  ma- 
nure particularly  valuable  upon  soils  whicli  contain  insoluble 
mould.  That  which  is  found  on  the  floor  of  sheep-cotes,  when 
left  undisturbed,  is  of  two  qualities — that  of  the  upper  layer, 
which  is  occasionally  renewed  with  fresh  litter,  being  strawy, 
dry,  and  not  fermented;  w^hile,  on  the  contrary,  that  of  the 
under  layer  is  moist,  clammy,  and  fit  for  use.  When  the 
dung  is  removed,  care  should  therefore  be  taken  to  mix  both 
layers,  so  that  they  may  be  equally  decomposed ;  and,  when 

*An  instance  is  mentioned  in  the  Essex  Report  of  15  acres  having  been 
manured  for  beans— 6  with  horse-dung,  and  9  with  dung  from  the  cow-yard  ; 
and  that  the  0  acres  produced  far  more  than  the  9. — Vol.  ii.  p.  230.  In  an 
experiment,  made  near  Grantham,  in  Lincolnshire,  on  a  poor  dry  soil,  the 
manure  from  a  horse-yard,  and  that  from  a  yard  where  neat  cattle  were 
wintered,  were  used  separately  for  turnips,  and  the  former  was  found  to 
have  greatly  the  advantage. 

b2 


14  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

thus  prepared,  the  manure  should  be  spread  sparingly  upon  the 
land,  if  used  for  corn  crops,  or  it  is  apt  to  make  them  run  to 
straw:  but  upon  cold,  sour  soils,  this  unfermented  dung  may- 
be used  in  large  quantities  with  considerable  advantage. 

Swine''s  dung  is,  by  many  persons,  considered  as  the  rich- 
est of  all  animal  manure,  except  night-soil ;  while  others  view 
it  as  being  of  a  cold  description.     It  is  of  a  soapy  nature,  is 
slow  of  fermentation,  and  when  laid  upon  very  cold  soils,  it 
shoiiW  be  mixed  with  horse-dung ;  for  although  its  stimulating 
powers  upon  vegetation  are  very  great,  yet  of  itself  it  does  not 
heat  sufficiently  to  destroy  the  seeds  of  weeds.     Mr.  Malcolm, 
indeed,  says  that  'he  has  often  seen  it  applied  to  land  consist- 
ing of  a  shallow  loam  upon  a  fine  gravel,  and  land  of  a  sandy 
nature,  in  which  soils  it  has  filled  the  ground  with  weeds,  par- 
ticularly the  May-weed  ;  and  in  a  hot  season  a  crop  of  barley 
has  been  entirely  burnt  up.'     The  loss  of  the  barley-crop  may 
however  be  partly  attributed  to  the  dryness  of  the  season,  and 
the  foulness  of  the  land  to  the  want  of  good  culture.     Any 
ill-managed  manure  may  be  full  of  the  seeds  of  weeds,  and 
therefore  they  may  be  sown  with  it.     But  it  is  a  futile  charge 
against  any  species  of  manure  to  say  that  it  encourages  weeds ; 
for  it  is  evident  that,  if  the  land  were  clean,  the  same  stimulus 
wliich  acts  upon  them  would  be  applied,  in  like  manner,  to  the 
crop  of  grain  intended  to  be  cultivated.     We  do  not  hear  such 
complaints  from  farmers  who  drill  their  corn  and  effectually 
hoe  the  intervals.     When,  therefore,  it  is  considered  that  vast 
quantities  of  weeds  are  usually  cast  into  the  pigsties,  many  of 
them  bearing  seeds  fully  ripened,  it  will  be  evident  that  caution 
is  requisite  to  destroy  their  vegetative  powers  before  this  ma- 
nure is  laid  upon  arable  lands.     On  this  account,  nothing  can 
be  more  proper  than  to  form  a  dunghill  by  a  mixture  from  the 
pigsties  and  the  stable.     The  well-known  property  of  horse- 
dung  to  ferment  freely  Vv-ill  completely  effect  what  is  required, 
and  the  compost  will  be  found  most  valuable.     The  worth  of 
manure  from  the  pigsties  will  however  depend  m.uch  upon  the 
mode  in  which  it  is  prepared.     If  the  litter  be  often  renewed, 
and  it  be  kept  dry,  either  by  sloping  gutters,  or  by  moans  of 
holes  bored  in  the  planking  of  the  floor,  then  tlie  straw  will 
retain  but  a  small  quantity  of  the  urine,  and  will  be  productive 
of  little  otber  effect  than  if  it  were  merely  rotten.     But  if  it 
be  allowed  to  become  saturated  with  the  urine,  by  stopping 
those  drains,  and  care  be  taken  to  preserve  the  litter  in  a 
proper  state  for  decomposition,  it  will  ferment  rapidly,  lose  its 


ON  MANURES.  15 

coldness,  and  become  a  very  strong-  manure.  The  necessity 
of  cleanliness  in  the  stye  is  a  consideration  apart,  which 
belongs  more  properly  to  the  future  subject  of  the  treatment 
of  hogs. 

A  full  stock  of  swine  effect  very  great  service  when  per- 
mitted to  run  loose  in  farm-yards  where  much  straw  is  used ; 
they  highly  enrich  it  by  their  dung  and  urine,  and  mechani- 
cally promote  the  decomposition  of  its  woody  fibre  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  constantly  work  among  it — breaking  it  to 
pieces,  and  thus  rendering  it  more  manageable  on  arable  land, 
even  when  in  the  earliest  stage  of  decomposition.  They  have, 
indeed,  been  strongly  recommended  by  Mr.  Blaikie,  who 
advises,  in  his  very  judicious  essay  on  farm-yard  manure, 
'  that  those  industrious  and  useful  animals  should  be  attracted 
to  the  yard,  because  they  rout  the  straw  and  dung  about  in 
search  of  grains  of  corn,  bits  of  Swedish  turnips,  and  other 
food,  by  which  means  the  manure  becomes  more  intimately 
mixed,  and  is  proportionally  increased  in  value.'  Groat  incon- 
venience has,  however,  arisen  from  allowing  them  to  run  about 
the  buildings,  through  the  difficulty  of  preventing  them  from 
getting  out  and  damaging  crops  and  fences;  wherefore  many 
farmers  have  adopted  the  plan  of  having  paled  yards,  with 
open  sheds,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  keeping  their  store  pigs. 

Urine,  although  essentially  composed  of  water,  yet  contains 
much  of  the  elements  of  vegetation  in  a  state  of  solution  pecu- 
liar to  itself,  and  is  combined,  through  the  secretion  of  the 
vessels,  with  carbon  and  saline  matter,  from  which  it  derives 
its  nutritive  properties,  as  well  as  with  a  large  portion  of 
ammonia,  to  which  it  owes  the  peculiar  smell  by  which  it  is 
distinguished.  The  various  species  of  urine  from  different 
animals  differ  in  their  constituents,  and  the  urine  of  the  same 
animals  alters  when  any  material  change  is  made  in  the  nature 
of  the  food.*     The  analysis  of  its  composition  has  shown  it  to 

*  By  experiments  made  by  Mr.  Brande  on  100  parts  of  the  urine  of  cows, 
and  by  Fourcroy  and  Vauquelin  of  tiorses,  tlie  following  proportions  were 
found  in  each,  viz.  :— 

cows.  HORSES, 

Phosphate  of  lime 3    Carbonate  of  lime 11 

Muriates  of  potassa  and  ammonia    15  do.        of  soda 9 

Sulphute  of  potassa 0    Benzoate  of    do 24 

Carbonate  of  potassa  and  ammonia   4    Muriate  of  potassa 9 

IFrea 4    Urea 7 

Water 65    Water  and  mucilage     ....    40 

There  is,  therefore,  more  alkaline  salts  in  the  urine  of  horses,  which  con- 
sequently possesses  greater  fertilizing  powers  than  that  of  oxen;  and  it  has 


16  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

be  most  favourable  to  vegetation  when  mixed  with  other  excre- 
ment, and  with  strav,-,  or  similar  substances,  because  it  occa- 
i^ions  their  combination,  and  contributes  to  their  more  perfect 
decomposition,  by  which  they  are  converted  into  the  species 
of  manure  of  which  we  are  treating-;  and  although  we  confine 
that  manure  to  straw,  or  haulm,  and  to  the  dung  of  horses  and 
oxen,  both  as  that  of  which  it  is  the  most  g^enerally  composed, 
and  as  folding-  and  nig-ht-soil  will  be  separately  considered,  it 
yet  includes  every  other  kind  of  ordure,  (a) 

Straw  of  all  kinds,  or  similar  dry  veg-etable  matter,  when 
used  as  litter,  is  well  known  to  form  a  principal  ingredient  in 
the  composition  of  farm-yard  manure ;  not  perhaps  so  much 
by  the  nourishment  which  it  is  of  itself  capable  of  imparting  to 
the  soil,  as  from  the  value  which  it  acquires  by  its  absorp- 
tion of  urine,  as  well  as  by  combining  with  dung  in  its  differ- 
ent stages  of  decomposition,  and  imparting  consistence  to  the 
whole  mass,  which  is  then  carried  more  regularly  through  the 
processes  of  fermentation  and  putrefaction,  by  which  it  is  ren- 
dered fit  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  wanted.  Nothing,  in 
fact,  can  be  better  adapted  for  the  mixture  than  straw ;  for  it 
would  rot  with  difficulty  and  imperfectly  but  for  the  dung, 
vvliich  brings  an  accession  of  the  richest  materials  to  the  heap, 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  when  thus  combined,  it  forms 
the  best  and  the  most  generally  useful  of  all  manures  for 
every  kind  of  land.  All  the  various  sorts  of  straw  and  haulm 
answer  the  purposes  of  litter,  though  opinions  vary  respecting 
its  value  for  that  use ;  some  contending  that  rye  straw  is  the 
best,  while  others  insist,  with  more  apparent  reason,  that  the 

been  not  inaptly  demanded,  whether,  if  these  ingredients  could  be  procured 
cheap,  and  rendered  soluble  in  water,  they  might  not  be  so  prepared  as  to 
bi-'conie  valuable  for  saturating  duntr-hills,  or  for  application  in  its  liquid 
state? — Leicester  Report,  note,  p.  190.  Humrfn  urine  contains  a  greater 
variety  of  constituents  than  any  other  species,  and  differs  in  comparison 
according  to  the  state  of  the  body.  («)  [One  hundred  parts  of  the  urine  of 
a  healthy  man  are  estimated  to  be  equal  to  1300  parts  of  fresh  horse-dung, 
and  to  000  parts  of  fresh  cow-d\in<r.]  All  urine  is  liable  to  undersro  putre- 
faction very  suddenly  ;  but  that  of  carnivorous  animals  more  rapidly  than 
that  of  granivorous  animals  The  pot-ash  and  pearl-ash  of  conuuerce  are 
carbonates  of  putassa  of  different  degrees  of  purity. — Sir  II.  Davy,  Elem. 
of  Jlgric.  Clieiii.,  p.  2.56.  See  also  the  Analysis,  by  Berzelius,  and  by  TV. 
Jlenry,  J\l.  D.,  F.  R.  S.,  Elem.  of  Exper.  Chem.y  10th  edit.,  vol.  ii.  chap.  xiii. 
Beet.  V. 

The  white  globe  turnip  not  only  yields  a  larger  quantity  of  urine,  but  its 
etTrtct  as  a  manure  upon  any  crop  is  less  apparent  than  that  of  either  the 
yi'llow  Aberdeen  or  the  Swedish.  That  produced  by  cut-gras-s  is  compara- 
tively weak:  but  the  liquid  majiure  from  the  refuse  of  distilleries,  such  ;rs 
grains  and  dreg,  has  been  found  good. —  (^iiart.  Jour,  of  Jigric,  IS'o.  xix.  p.  96. 


ON  MANURES.  17 

straw  of  wlieat  absorbs  more  moisture,  and  it  is  supposed  to 
be  equal  to  three  times  its  weight  after  it  has  been  saturated 
with  urine. 

It  was  the  system  of  Bakewell,  during  a  part  of  his  life,  to 
convert  the  whole  of  the  straw  mto  food  for  liis  stock,  and  it 
was  also  the  opinion  of  many  of  his  supporters,  that  this  mode 
of  consuming  straw  would  not  only  tend  considerably  to 
increase  the  number  of  black  cattle,  but  also  to  improve  the 
quality  of  manure;  for  they  argued — 'that  straw  is  not  alone 
thus  rendered  fit  for  the  support  of  live-stock,  but  that,  by  being- 
digested  and  passed  through  their  bodies,  it  must  become  a 
much  more  highly  enriched  manure  than  in  the  ordinary  way 
of  treading  and  rotting.'  Bakewell,  however,  altered  his 
opinion  at  a  later  period  of  his  life,  and  the  doctrine  is  cer- 
tainly questionable ;  for  although  it  be  true  that  a  part  of  the 
straw,  when  eaten,  assists  the  fermentation  of  the  remainder, 
yet,  when  partly  used  as  a  litter,  it  at  once  absorbs  the  urine, 
which  is,  perhaps,  of  more  value,  as  manure,  than  straw  which 
has  been  merely  masticated  and  digested,  without  being  com- 
bined with  richer  food ;  and  it  is  yet  very  doubtful  whether, 
if  all  the  straw  in  the  kingdom  were  to  be  passed  through  the 
intestines  of  animals,  the  manure  made  from  their  dung  would 
not  be  thereby  reduced  both  in  quality  and  quantity.  The 
practice  differs  in  various  counties :  in  some  parts  of  Yorkshire, 
and  other  places,  a  farmer  commonly  makes  his  cattle  eat 
almost  every  particle  of  straw,  leaving  scarcely  any  to  litter 
their  stalls;  while  in  Norfolk,  they  convert  nearly  the  whole 
into  muck,  and  no  system  is  considered  more  impoverishing  to 
land,  than  that  of  applying  the  stra\v  as  food  instead  of  tread- 
ing it  into  dung. 

The  medium  course  is  doubtless  the  most  to  be  approved 
when  it  can  be  conveniently  carried  into  effect;  but  there  are 
many  farms  which  either  do  not  produce  turnips,  or  only  suffi- 
cient for  their  sheep,  by  which  they  are  eaten  off  upon  the 
land,  and  corn  or  oil-cake  being  too  expensive  for  store  and 
working  stock,  they  must  necessarily  be  chiefly  kept  upon 
straw.  It  is  therefore  profusely  used  for  store-cattle  in  most 
yards,  yet,  by  having  abundance,  they  pick  out  the  best  and 
leave  the  refuse  for  litter ;  it  is  only  necessary  to  supply  it 
fresh,  with  a  moderate  quantity  of  turnips,  or  any  succulent 
root,  to  promote  the  secretion  of  urine,  and  the  manure  thus 
produced  will  be  found  of  excellent  quality ;  but  if  they  be 


18  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

wholly  fed  on  straw,  although  the  farmer  may  have  a  large 
dunghill,  it  will  be  found  to  be  of  comparatively  little  value. 

It  has  been  tjiought  that  cattle  getting  wholly  straw,  or 
other  dry  forage,  for  both  food  and  litter,  may  consume  nearly 
three-fifths  of  it  us  food,  and  there  would  still  remain  a  useful 
mixture  of  dung  and  straw  for  manure.  When  they  are  sup- 
plied, as  young  or  keeping  stock,  with  turnips  to  keep  them 
merely  in  condition,  the  manure  will  be  in  good  order  when 
they  eat  about  one-half  of  the  straw,  and  leave  the  other  half 
as  litter.  If,  again,  they  are  being  fattened  on  turnips,  or  fed 
on  distiller's  wash,  grains,  or  upon  other  food,  which  produces 
their  dung  with  much  urine,  they  would  then  require  to  have 
at  least  three-fifths,  if  not  a  still  larger  quantity  of  straw  left 
for  litter.  These  proportions  will,  in  such  instances,  be  gene- 
rally found  to  produce  manure  of  a  good  description  ;  but  when 
beasts  are  fatting  upon  steamed  potatoes  and  oil-cake,  or  other 
provender  which  occasions  costiveness,  or  does  not  occasion  a 
tree  discharge  ,of  urine,  it  may  sometimes  be  necessary  to 
moisten  the  dung-heap,  by  which  means  any  quantity  of  straw 
may  be  rotted,  and,  with  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of 
dung,  may  be  converted  into  manure.  Mr.  Marshall  mentions 
having  tried  the  effects  of  moisture  in  some  experiments  on 
his  own  farm  upon  heaps  of  dung  which  had  lain  until  much 
of  it  had  become  mouldy,  one  of  which  he  watered,  bringing 
the  outward  and  dry  parts  into  the  middle  of  the  pile,  and 
drenching  it  well  with  the  drainage  of  the  yard ;  it  was  then 
carefully  turned  over,  breaking  every  lump  and  mixing  all  its 
parts,  then  finally  wetting  the  surface,  and  clapping  it  smooth 
and  close  with  the  back  of  the  shovel  to  keep  in  the  heat.  It 
began  to  work  on  the  second  or  third  day,  after  which  the 
mouldiness  disappeared,  and  it  was  converted  into  compara- 
tively rich,  black,  and  rotten  dung ;  and  other  similar  trials 
were  equally  successful.  The  utility  of  that  point  of  manage- 
ment is,  in  fact,  unquestionable ;  the  trouble  is  not  worth 
mentioning ;  but  were  it  greater,  and  that  any  thing  is  to  be 
thereby  gained  in  the  quality  of  the  dung,  that  can  form  no 
sufficient  excuse  for  its  omission,  for,  if  it  be  of  any  value,  it 
cannot  be  too  good,  and  the  experience  of  kitchen  gardeners, 
who  are  well  known  to  use  great  care  in  the  preparation  of 
dung,  and  to  profit  accordmgly,  should  operate  as  a  hint  to 
farmers  to  use  similar  means. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  haulm  of  beans  and  peas 
produces  more  nutritive  food  than  straw.     When  the  former 


ON  MANURES.  19 

is  well  broken  by  thrashing,  it  also  forms  a  very  tolerable 
litter,  for  which  purpose  it  is  much  used  in  most  parts  of  Eng- 
land, though  in  some  places  it  is  wholly  laid,  as  if  of  no  further 
value,  in  the  bottom  of  the  straw-yard,  and  pea-haulm  is  more 
generally  employed  in  cart-stables  for  racking  up  the  horses, 
and  for  sheep,  which  are  very  fond  of  it.  In  Scotland,  how- 
ever, the  haulm  of  neither  is  used  for  litter,  unless  it  has  been 
spoiled  by  the  weather,  or  has  become  sticky  by  the  crop 
having  been  allowed  to  stand  too  long  upon  the  ground  before 
being  cut,  and  it  is  there,  more  prudently,  kept  for  the  pur- 
poses of  feeding. 

Yards  and  Sheds. — It  may  be  observed  that  the  former  are 
often  so  full  of  large  holes  as  to  leave  them  in  many  parts 
saturated  with  water,  or  their  bottoms  are  either  so  porous,  or 
else  situated  on  such  declivities  as  to  drain  ofl'  the  entire 
moisture ;  in  either  of  which  cases  the  loss  cannot  but  be  very 
considerable  to  the  farmer,  although  he  may  be  ignorant  of 
what  he  is  daily  losing,  because  it  does  not  go  out  of  his 
pocket  in  the  shape  of  hard  cash.  Whenever  a  yard  is  cir- 
cumstanced in  either  of  the  ways  just  mentioned,  all  the 
inequalities  should  be  levelled,  the  bottom  should  be  rendered 
sound  and  water-tight,  and  if  either  any  declivity  in  the  yard, 
or  the  situation  of  the  buildings,  occasions  the  stock  confined 
in  it  to  give  a  preference  to  one  part  over  another,  the  litter 
should,  in  that  case,  be  occasionally  removed,  in  order  that  it 
may  be  equally  spread  over  every  part,  and  the  position  of  the 
feeding  cribs  should  be  altered ;  for  although  our  opinion 
inclines  to  that  form  which  prefers  a  gentle  slope  to  the  centre 
of  the  yard,  and  the  dung  should  be  kept  moist,  yet  it  should 
not  be  suffered  to  become  drenched  with  rain.  If  this  be  not 
attended  to,  the  excess  of  wet  will  prevent  the  bottom  of  the 
heap  from  rotting  ;  and  if  it  be  not  regularly  spread  to  a  nearly 
equal  depth,  the  fermentation  will  be  carried  on  imperfectly, 
which  will  occasion  those  parts  where  it  may  have  been  too 
much  raised  to  contract  an  excess  of  heat,  from  which  they 
become  what  is  termed  fire-fanged.  This  especially  applies 
to  stable-dung,  which,  if  allowed  to  accumulate  in  heaps  with- 
out being  properly  mixed,  acquires  a  mouldy  smell,  and  loses 
so  considerable  a  portion  of  the  best  part  of  its  substance,  that 
its  diminution  in  value  has  been  estimated  by  a  very  expe- 
rienced agriculturist  at  not  less  than  from  50  to  75  per  cent. 

Acting  upon  the  principle  of  preserving  dung,  and  rendering 
it  immediately  available,  it  has  been  recommended  to  construct 


20  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

cattle-sheds,  sufficiently  capacious  to  allow  a  space  rather 
broader  than  the  platform  upon  which  the  beasts  lie,  but  sunk 
somewhat  lower,  and  to  which  the  dung  may  be  swept  up. 
When  thus  covered,  its  decomposition  is  effected  by  the  aid 
of  its  natural  humidity,  and  if  left  for  three  or  four  weeks,  its 
fermentation  will  be  completed.  The  time  at  which  it  is 
subject  to  the  greatest  evaporation  of  its  volatile  particles  will 
then  be  past,  and  it  may  be  immediately  carried  upon  the  land. 
Its  quantity  will  be  certainly  less  decreased,  and  its  quality 
better  preserved,  by  being  left  under  the  cover  of  a  shed,  and 
there  will  also  he  a  saving  of  labour  in  its  removal ;  but  not 
alone  should  the  neatness  and  order  of  stalls  be  taken  into 
consideration,  but  also  the  cost.  Theoretic  people,  when  ad- 
vocating new  schemes  in  husbandry,  rarely  give  themselves 
the  trouble  of  calculating  any  thing  Ijeyond  their  effects  upon 
crops,  without  due  regard  to  the  expense  of  their  cultivation ; 
and  if  in  this  case  the  additional  charges  of  the  erection  of  tlie 
building,  together  with  the  repairs  rendered  necessary  by  the 
steam  arising  from  the  dung,  were  to  be  reckoned,  they  would 
probably  be  found  to  exceed  the  value  of  the  proposed  advan- 
tages of  the  plan.  While  the  opinions  of  practical  men  on 
this  and  other  modes  of  management  are  so  unsettled  and  dis- 
cordant, those  cannot  be  deemed  imprudent  who  adopt  that 
side  of  the  question  which  is  the  most  consistent  with  economy. 
We  will,  however,  admit  that  it  would  be  an  improvement  if 
reservoirs  for  the  drainage  of  yards  were  so  constructed  that 
their  contents  might  be  pumped  up,  and  sprinkled  over  horse- 
litter,  whenever  its  too  great  dryness  occasions  any  danger  of 
its  becoming  fire-fanged ;  for,  whether  in  the  yard,  or  carried 
out  to  the  dung-heap,  it  should  never  be  allowed  to  become  so 
dry  as  to  lose  the  power  of  fermentation ;  and  if  there  should 
be  no  portion  of  it  sufficiently  moist  to  allow  of  the  dry  part 
being  mixed  up  with  it,  so  as  to  prevent  that  risk,  it  should  be 
sprinkled  regularly  when  shook  up.  A  watering-pot  with  a 
large  rose  will  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose. 

There  can,  indeed,  be  nothing  more  appropriate  to  tlie 
subject  than  the  observation  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  '  that  when 
dung  is  to  be  preserved  for  any  time,  the  site  of  the  dung-hill 
is  of  great  importance.  In  order  to  have  it  defended  from  the 
sun,  it  should  be  laid  under  a  shed,  or  on  the  north  side  of  a 
wall.  To  make  a  complete  dung-hill  repository,  the  floor 
should  be  paved  with  flat  stones,  a  little  inclination  being 
made  from  each  side  towards  the  centre :  in  the  centre  there 


ON  MANURES.  21 

should  be  drains  connected  with  a  small  well,  furnished  with 
a  pump,  by  which  any  fluid  matter  may  be  collected  for  the 
use  of  the  land ;  for  it  too  often  happens  that  the  draining-s  of 
the  dung--hill  are  entirely  wasted.'  A  sheltered  spot  of  ground 
ought  always  to  be  chosen  for  the  site;  and  although  some 
after-trouble  may  be  saved  by  depositing  it,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, in  the  field  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied,  it  is  yet,  in 
most  cases,  found  more  convenient  to  place  it  m  some  secluded 
situation  near  the  homestead.  '  There  it  is  always  under  the 
farmer's  eye,  and  a  greater  quantity  can  be  moved  in  a  shorter 
time  than  when  its  position  is  more  distant.  Besides,  in  wet 
weather  the  roads  are  not  only  cut  up  by  driving  to  a  distance, 
but  the  field  on  which  it  is  made  may  be  poached  and  con- 
siderably injured.' 

Should  there  be  no  perfect  and  permanent  site  formed  for  a 
complete  dung-hill  repository,  accompanied  by  a  well  and 
pump,  as  above  recommended,  yet  the  space  intended  for  the 
reception  of  any  common  dung-heap  should  be  slightly  hollowed 
out,  leaving  one  side  rather  deeper  than  the  other,  and  cutting 
a  narrow  drain  through  that  side,  from  which  any  superfluous 
moisture  may  be  carried  off  to  a  yet  lower  excavation,  where 
it  may  be  received  upon  a  bed  of  loose  mould,  or  among 
articles  of  slow  decay,  as  cabbage-stalks,  the  tough  haulm  of 
over-ripe  beans,  or  any  similar  substances.  It  should  also  be 
surrounded  with  a  mound  dug  out  from  the  hollowed  place,  to 
prevent  water  from  running  into  it,  and,  if  that  be  prevented, 
no  dangei-  need  be  apprehended  from  any  excess  of  moisture, 
except  in  times  of  very  heavy  rain,  which,  in  such  seasons, 
can  also  be  much  guarded  against  by  sloping  the  sides.  Were 
roofs  constructed  over  dung-hills,  to  protect  them  from  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  as  well  as  from  the  rain,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
if  roughly  put  up,  at  little  cost,  they  would  prove  advantageous; 
but  the  benefit  should  be  always  closely  estimated,  in  order  that 
it  may  not  exceed  the  charge :  perhaps  a  contrivance  of  the 
kind  might  be  made  with  spare  branches  of  trees,  and  worn- 
out  hurdles,  supported  by  posts  formed  out  of  any  otherwise 
useless  timber. 

Preservation  of  dung.  —  Practice  differs  in  the  modes 
adopted  respecting  the  care  of  farm-yard  dung.  Most  farm- 
ers allow  it  to  accumulate  for  a  long  time  in  the  yard,  add- 
ing fresh  straw  regularly  to  the  heap,  from  an  impression  that 
the  bottom,  if  unremoved,  will  become  the  richest  part,  and 
that  its  accumulation  imparts  a  certain  degree  of  warmth  to 


22  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  cattle ;  while  some  recommend  '  that  it  should  be  cleaned 
out  once  a  month  at  least,  not  only  to  sweeten  the  yard,  and 
thereby  to  increase  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  animals,  but  in 
order  that  its  contents  may  be  properly  mixed  in  some  other 
place,  to  induce  and  bring  on  a  regular  fermentation.'  Now, 
on  this  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  fears  which  are  enter- 
tained by  some  persons  of  the  vapour  arising  from  dung  which 
is  contained  in  the  open  air  of  the  yards  becoming  prejudicial 
to  the  health  of  the  cattle,  are  proved  by  experience  to  be  com- 
pletely visionary.  No  really  bad  odour  prevails  there  ;  for, 
although  it  may  be  offensive  to  delicate  nostrils,  the  air  is 
always  respirable,  and  when  not  confined  in  close  stalls,  by 
which  the  circulation  is  prevented,  no  ill  effects  are  ever 
known  to  arise  from  it.  But  when  the  cattle  are  either  fed 
upon  turnips  or  other  green  food,  the  quantity  of  urine  which 
they  discharge  drenches  such  a  quantity  of  straw,  that  the 
beasts  "cannot  be  easily  kept  dry ;  or  if  they  be  crowded  in 
badly  arranged  yards,  and  immersed  in  the  filth  proceeding 
from  a  scanty  covering  of  straw,  and  the  want  of  proper  drains 
to  carry  ofl^  the  superfluous  moisture,  they  may  then  indeed  be 
exposed  to  injury  from  the  wet,  and  the  dung  should  be 
removed,  though  in  almost  any  case  '  once  a  month'  w^ould  be 
found  too  often.  In  many  instances  the  yards  are  never 
cleared  until  the  cattle  are  turned  out  after  the  close  of  the 
winter ;  and,  unless  in  a  very  plentiful  season  for  straw,  it  is 
seldom  done  more  frequently,  atler  they  are  shut  up,  than  per- 
haps once  more  in  the  early  part  of  the  spring :  except  they 
be  soiled  during  the  summer,  in  which  case  it  becomes  fre- 
quently necessary.  When  proper  care  has  been  used  to  pre- 
vent an  excess  of  rain-water,  the  manure  thus  obtained  from 
the  bottom  layer  will  doubtless  be  found  of  superior  quality ; 
but  the  w'hole  heap  ought  to  be  w^ell  mixed,  in  order  to  render 
it  of  equal  value. 

An  eminent  agricultural  author,  whom  we  have  already 
quoted,  complains  that  he  has  not,  in  any  one  instance,  been  able 
to  find  any  thing  like  system  in  the  mechanical  arrangement 
of  the  component  parts  of  farm-yard  mixens,  wliich  he  gene- 
rally found  put  together  as  they  arise,  according  to  circum- 
stances, and  without  any  regard  to  rule.  Hence  it  follows 
that  their  real  value  as  manure  can  never  be  distinctly  known 
to  the  farmer,  nor  can  he  apply  that  proportion  which  a  more 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  contents  would  enable  him  lo 
apportion  to  different  kinds  of  grain,  or  to  the  particular  soils 


ON  MANURES.  23 

and  seasons  in  which  they  can  be  most  advantageously  applied. 
A  heap,  for  instance,  composed  entirely  of  dung  from  stables 
where  horses  have  been  plentifully  fed  with  corn,  must  be  far 
superior  to  one  produced  by  cattle  in  the  straw-yard  ;  yet  so 
little  is  this  very  material  point  adverted  to,  that  nothing-  is 
more  common  than  to  hear  of  '  so  many  loads  per  acre'  being- 
laid  upon  the  land,  without  regard  to  the  ingredients  which  it 
contains,  though  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  its  power 
over  the  crops  will  be  in  exact  proportion  to  the  qualities  of 
the  materials  of  which  it  is  composed. 

This  writer  advocates  the  separation  of  the  various  species 
of  manure,  in  order  that  the  properties  of  each  may  be  dis- 
tinctly ascertained ;  yet  another  author,  of  equal  experience, 
says,  in  treating  of  Norfolk,  '  that  the  principal  error  in  the 
common  method  of  manufacturing  farm-yard  dung,  originates 
in  the  prevailing  custom  of  keeping  the  dung  arising  from  dif- 
ferent descriptions  of  animals  in  separate  heaps  or  departments, 
and  applying  the  same  to  the  land  without  intermixture,  and 
consequently  in  an  improper  state.'  He  then  alludes  to  the 
difference  arising  in  the  manure  from  the  modes  of  keeping 
fatting  and  store  cattle  in  yards  by  themselves,  '  while  horse- 
dung  is  also  usually  thrown  out  at  the  stable-doors,  and  there 
accumulates  in  large  heaps,  which  very  soon  ferment  and  heat 
to  excess ;'  he  therefore  recommends  that  litter  to  be  spread 
over  the  straw-yard,  and  the  whole  of  the  dung  from  the  dif- 
ferent yards  and  the  hog-styes  to  be  mixed  together.* 

On  these  opposite  opinions  we  have  to  remark,  that,  when 
either  the  soil  or  the  intended  crop  is  essentially  different,  it 
may  be  very  desirable  that  the  manure  to  be  employed  should 
possess  distinct  properties,  and  therefore,  in  such  cases,  a  por- 
tion of  it  should  be  separately  kept,  as  well  as  difrerently  pre- 
pared. Thus  vv^arm  and  cold  soils  require  manures  of  a  con- 
trary nature ;  an  advanced  stage  of  their  fermentation  is  in 
some  cases  less  favourable  to  vegetation  than  in  others ;  and, 
in  the  instance  of  potatoes,  it  is  well  known  that  stable-dung 
is  employed  with  more  eiTect  alone  than  when  mixed.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  advisable  that  horse-litter  in  particular 
should  be  separately  kept  in  the  yards,  not  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose just  mentioned,  but  that,  as  being  of  a  hotter  nature  than 
any  convnon  dung,  it  may  be  mixed  with  that  of  other  cattle 


*  Blaikie  on  Farm-yard  Dung,  edit.  1828,  pp.  3,  5,  6.     See  also  the  Not- 
tinghamshire Report,  p.  168. 

c2 


24  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

in  such  proportions  as  may  be  thought  best  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  the  compost  may  be  required.  If  no  better 
arrangement  can  be  made,  the  litter  should  be  placed  within 
some  dry  ditch,  which  will  answer  the  purpose  of  a  more 
regularly  constructed  pit,  where  its  moisture  may  be  main- 
tained without  too  greatly  heating  it,  and  without  exposing  it 
to  the  evaporating  action  of  the  air.  Thus,  if  care  be  at  the 
same  time  taken  to  prevent  it  from  becoming  dry,  the  fer- 
mentation will  be  checked ;  and  should  it  be  thought  expedi- 
ent to  still  further  retard  tliat  operation,  it  may  be  effected  by 
a  mixture  of  hog's  dung,  which,  though  rich,  yet  being  of  a 
colder  nature,  is  less  fermentable.  By  this  union  the  dung 
becomes  decomposed  into  a  soft  and  pulpy  mass,  which  forms 
a  very  powerful  manure,  and,  by  a  little  judicious  manage- 
ment, can  be  either  promptly  got  ready  or  be  kept  back  at 
pleasure. 

Under  other  circumstances,  however,  and  especially  on  small 
farms,  where  the  quantity  of  materials  may  not  be  sufficient  to 
allow  of  their  bemg  separated  without  incurring  the  risk  of 
loss  by  the  excess  of  evaporation,  or  by  the  want  of  due  fer- 
mentation, it  is  found  more  generally  expedient  to  spread 
together  all  the  different  sorts  of  the  dung  of  the  larger  ani- 
mals in  different  layers,  so  that  each  may  be  regularly  mixed 
and  partake  equally  of  the  common  properties  of  all,  by  which 
means  tlie  faults  of  one  species  are  corrected  by  another ;  the 
too  rapid  fermentation  of  the  dung  of  horses  is  checked,  while 
that  of  hogs  and  horned  cattle  is  accelerated,  and  thus  tiie 
whole  mass  acquires  the  enriching  properties  of  the  most  fer- 
tilizing compost. 

Preparation  of  Manure.  —  Dung,  thus  indiscriminately 
tin-own  together,  being  com])oscd  of  every  species,  whether 
from  horses,  pigs,  or  black  cattle,  bedded  with  a  litter  of  straw, 
to  which  every  vegetable  substance  that  can  be  collected 
round  the  houce  and  ])remises  should  be  added,  forms  a  com- 
bination of  fermentable  matter  of  various  kinds,  wliich,  witli 
due  care,  may  soon  be  brought  into  a  fit  state  of  preparation. 
Instead,  however,  of  laying  it  in  a  regular  manner,  it  is  too 
otlen  suffered  to  remain  in  different  heaps,  in  whatever  part 
of  the  yard  it  may  have  been  carried  from  the  barn  and  stables, 
in  which  condition  it  is  left  during  the  winter;  and  being  thus 
imperfectly  fermented,  its  value  is,  in  all  such  instances,  very 
materially  injured :  whereas,  if  spread  as  equally  as  possible 
over  tlic  entire  yard,  the  different   materials  becoming  thus 


ON  MANURES.  25 

well  mixed  together,  their  different  properties  are  blended, 
and  a  compact  mass  of  manure  is  produced  of  equal  quality. 

It  should,  however,  be  observed,  that  there  is  in  every  farm- 
yard a  proportion  of  hot  and  pungent  dung-,  produced  by 
poultry  and  pigeons,  which  should  be  separately  kept  for  top- 
dressings,  for  which  purpose  it  may  be  found  very  useful :  if 
scattered  over  the  common  heap,  it  will,  however,  have  the 
effect  of  increasing  the  fermentation,  and  hastening  its  decom- 
position. That  of  swine,  also,  when  thus  mixed,  has  the  same 
effect ;  and  it  was  proved,  after  repeated  trials,  when  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air  was  40"  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer,  that 
of  common  fann-yard  dung  was  about  70" ;  a  compost  of  lime, 
dung  and  earth,  55°;  and  a  portion  of  swine  and  tbwl's  dung, 
85o .  Care  should  also  be  taken  that,  if  any  other  substances 
tlian  those  commonly  employed  be  added  to  the  heap,  they  be 
of  such  a  nature  as  will  render  them  equally  susceptible  of  de- 
composition ;  if  not,  a  small  quantity  of  quicklime  will  have 
that  effect ;  but  it  should  be  applied  separately.  Lime  should 
also  be  added  to  all  weeds  which  have  ripened  their  seeds,  as 
well  as  to  the  roots  of  docks  and  other  noxious  plants,  which 
long  retain  the  power  of  vegetation,  and  spring  up  when  laid 
upon  the  land,  unless  they  are  destroyed.  The  better  way, 
indeed,  is  to  place  them  in  a  spot  away  from  the  yard,  and  to 
mix  them  mto  a  compost,  as  will  be  hereafter  mentioned. 

On  what  has  been  said  respecting  the  removal  of  dung  and 
litter  from  the  farm-yard^  it  should  also  be  remarked,  that 
their  being  retained  during  a  long  time  in  the  yard  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  comfort  of  the  cattle  and  the  due  preparation 
of  the  manure ;  for  if  straw  be  added  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
keep  the  former  dry,  although  tlie  lower  layers  of  the  manure 
may  be  in  a  good  state,  yet  those  at  the  top  cannot.  Straw, 
flung  out  to  the  yards  in  considerable  portions,  becomes,  after 
behig  compressed  by  the  trampling  of  cattle,  rather  like  a 
well-packed  stack  tlian  a  mass  of  dung  in  a  good  preparatory 
stite.  Except  where  a  considerable  stock  is  soiled,  the  small 
quantity  of  urine  and  dung  made  by  the  animals  is  barely  suf- 
ficient to  cause  a  slight  fermentation  in  the  heap,  which  brings 
on  fire-fanging,  after  which  its  original  powers  can  rarely  be 
restored.  To  prevent  that  injury,  no  measure  can  be  so 
successfully  used  as  a  frequent  removal  of  tliis  unmade  dung, 
especially  if  the  weather  be  wet  at  the  time ;  for  there  is  in 
such  cases  so  much  straw  that  has  not  passed  through  the 
entrails  of  tlie  cattle,  as  renders  it  almost  impossible  to  do 


S6  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

injury  by  an  excess  of  moisture :  if,  therefore,  its  removal  bo 
deferred  to  any  distant  period,  a  proportionately  greater  length 
of  time  mu8t  necessarily  be  devoted  to  its  turning  and  being 
got  in  order  for  the  field.  Unless  over-year  muck  be  used,  if 
the  manure  be  required  for  turnips,  it  will  be  found  necessary 
to  lead  it  from  tlie  farm-yard  as  soon  after  Christmas  as  the 
weather  and  the  state  of  the  roads  will  admit  of  it;  or,  if 
wanted  for  beans,  that  should  be  done  much  earlier.  No 
period  is  more  advantageous  for  this  work  than  a  frost ;  and  if 
much  manure  is  wanted  early,  it  may  be  led  from  the  yard  a 
second  time  in  the  month  of  February.  It  should  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  lighter  it  is  laid  upon  the  heap,  the  more  rapid 
will  be  the  decomposition ;  and  that  it  may  be  retarded  by 
compactness  of  form  and  pressure  on  the  top  with  a  heavy 
coat  of  soil.  This,  however,  must  depend  upon  the  quantity 
of  litter  and  of  cattle,  on  the  extent  of  the  yards,  the  state  oi" 
the  weather,  the  condition  of  the  manure,  and  the  intention  to 
which  it  is  to  be  applied,  all  varying  according  to  circum- 
stances, for  which  no  precise  rule  can  be  laid  down,  and 
wiiich  must  therefore  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  farmer. 
Yard-dung,  made  in  winter,  if  trodden  by  cattle,  will  not  be 
found  to  ferment  much.  It  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  kept 
neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry ;  if  in  the  former  state,  it  will 
injure  the  stock,  without  forwarding  its  own  decomposition ; 
and  if  in  the  latter,  it  will  become  mouldy,  or  fire-fanged,  and 
lose  its  most  valuable  qualities :  in  order  to  prepare  it  in  the 
best  manner,  it  should  therefore  be  preserved  in  a  mean 
between  tbe  two  extremes. 

Throughout  most  counties  the  general  plan  is,  after  foddering 
is  over,  to  carry  out  the  dung  from  the  farm-yard,  and  to  place 
it  in  large  heaps,  in  drder  to  occasion  a  due  fermentation,  and  to 
render  it  quite  rotten  before  it  is  laid  upon  the  land.  There 
are,  however,  many  circumstances  which  render  practice  and 
opinion  at  variance  on  this  point,  in  consequence  of  which 
a  great  portion  of  the  manure  is  carted  directly  to  the  fields, 
and  applied  to  the  intended  crop,  either  fresh,  or  perhaps  after 
being  once  turned  over.  The  apprehension  that  dung  loses 
much  of  its  virtue  by  evaporation  is  not  entirely  unknown  or 
imattended  to;  but  people  think  difiercntly  on  the  subject. 
Several  farmers  maintain  that  ploughing  in  the  manure  as 
soon  as  it  is  laid  upon  the  land  is  unnecessary,  if  not  injurious; 
because  they  say  that  it  absorbs  the  nif'jhtly  dews  and  other 
substances  from  the  atniy^^plierc,  by  wiiich  its  quality  is  im- 


ON  MANURES.  27 

proved ;  that  the  rain  will  wash  in  the  salts,  while  the  sun 
only  exhales  the  water ;  that,  when  spread  upon  the  surface, 
the  soil  also  thus  becomes  gradually  impreg^nated  with  its  juices ; 
and  that  clay  land  in  particular  is  rendered  mellow  and  free 
to  plough.  Thus  with  many  it  is  the  practice  to  carry  out 
yard-dung  in  its  long  and  hot  state,  and  to  suffer  it  to  lie  both 
upon  arable  and  grass  land  for  perhaps  a  month  or  six  weeks 
after  being  spread,  before  it  is  ploughed  m,  though  it  is 
knowledged  to  encourage  the  growth  of  weeds.  Others  cover 
it  with  a  slight  coat  of  mould.  On  the  other  hand,  although 
the  process  of  fermentation,  by  disengaging  a  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid  and  ammonia,  causes  an  evaporation,  by  which  the 
bulk  of  the  manure  is  much  diminished,  yet  its  power  is 
thought  to  be  thus  increased.  This  apparent  diminution  in 
bulk  has  indeed  been  too  much  insisted  on  by  the  opponents 
of  rotten  dung,  as  proof  of  its  decrease  in  value ;  for,  although 
the  size  of  the  heap  thus  evidently  becomes  smaller,  yet  its 
cubical  contents  are,  by  its  condensation,  increased  in  weight.* 
After  about  six  weeks  it  assumes  a  saponaceous,  greasy  ap- 
pearance, in  which  soft  and  sappy  state,  when  neither  fresh 
nor  too  rotten,  but  in  the  medium  between  those  states,  it  is 
generally  applied  to  the  land  by  the  best  farmers.  When 
very  rotten,  its  effect  is  more  immediate  and  powerful ;  but 
when  only  moderately  rotted,  its  efiect,  though  more  gradual, 
is  found  to  be  more  durable. 

On  this  subject  of  evaporation,  which  has  justly  engaged  so 
much  of  the  attention  of  scientific  agriculturists,  we,  how- 
ever, add  the  following  extracts  from  the  work  of  Von  Thaer, 
whose  practical  knowledge  cannot  be  *too  highly  appreciated. 
He  says,  that  not  only  does  theory  teach  us,  but  during  his 

*The  weights  of  putrescent  manures  will  depend  much  upon  the  progress 
of  their  decomposition  at  tlie  time,  as  well  as  the  proportion  of  moisture 
which,  from  accident  or  particular  treatment,  they  may  contain.  From  an 
experiment  on  the  subject,  recorded  in  the  Farmer's  Magazine,  we  learn 
that  the  comparative  weight  of  the  following  substances,  was  as  follows  :— 

cwt.     qrs.     lbs. 

One  cubical  yard  of  garden-mould  .  .  19        3      25 

Ditto  of  water  .  .  .  .  :  15        0        7 

Ditto  of  a  compost  of  earth,  weeds,  lime,  and  dung,  that 

had  lain  nine  months,  and  been  turned  over  14        0        5 

Ditto  of  new  dung      .  .  .  ...  9        3      18 

Ditto  of  leaves  and  sea-weeds        .  .  .  9        0        7 

Thus,  a  cubic  yard  of  water  is  to  that  of  new  dung  nearly  as  3  to  2.— vol. 
xiv.  p.  162.  Von  Thaer  calculates  the  weiglit  of  a  cubic  foot  of  any  strawy 
farm-yard  manure  at  only  about  46  lbs. ;  while  one  which  has  been  partly 
decomposed  will  weigh  from  56  to  upwards  of  60  lbs.,  without  being  com- 
pressed.— Principes  Raisonncs  d' Agriculture,  torn.  ii.  p.  326, 


28  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

own  experience  he  has  had  frequent  occasion  to  observe,  that 
it  is  hurtful  to  remove  farm-yard  manure  while  it  is  in  a  high 
degree  of  fermentation ;  for  according  to  all  appearance,  an 
essential  portion  of  the  most  active  substances  of  which  it  is 
composed  are  evaporated  when  exposed  to  the  air  while  that 
process  is  going  on.  But,  before  the  fermentation  has  arrived 
at  its  height,  or  after  it  has  passed,  the  dung  does  not  seem  to 
lose  any  thing  by  exposure  to  the  air ;  or,  at  least,  nothing  but 
what  it  regains  by  some  Other  means. 

That  an  evident  advantage  attends  the  spreading  of  fresh 
strawy  dung  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil  during  the  winter, 
and  leaving  it  there  in  that  state  until  the  spring  ploughing 
(it  being,  at  the  same  time,  well  understood  that  no  declivity 
of  the  land  allows  of  its  being  washed  away  by  the  rain) — for 
this  method  of  covering  the  ground  occasions  it  to  absorb  the 
juices  of  the  dung,  and  thus  renders  it  not  only  friable  to  work, 
but  extremely  productive :  so  much  so,  that  the  straw  has 
been  afterwards  raked  off"  the  land  at  the  close  of  the  season, 
and  yet  the  soil  has  appeared  as  much  improved,  as  that  in 
which  the  whole  of  the  litter  had  been  buried — an  effect  which 
is  also  apparent  in  meadow  ground  which  has  been  similarly 
treated.  Not  alone  has  this  occurred  in  many  such  instances ; 
but  in  others,  in  which  both  long  and  short  dung  have  been 
epread  upon  land  already  soM'n  with  tares  and  peas,  and 
though  left  there  during  vegetation,  have  produced  the  most 
beneficial  effect  upon  the  crops,  especially  when  sown  late, 
and  applied  to  ordinary  land  of  a  light  and  warm  nature ;  but 
what  appears  more  extraordinary  and  difHcult  to  explain — the 
land  which  has  been  thus  managed  has  evinced  a  decided 
superiority  in  the  subsequent  crops  over  ground  on  which  even 
a  larger  quantity  of  dung  had  been  regularly  ploughed  in. 

That,  as  one  proof  of  this,  in  the  spring  of  1808,  rape  was 
sown  alon^  with  clover  upon  a  \K)ov  soil,  and  was  afterwards 
covered  with  fresh  dung:  in  the  autumn  of  1809,  tlie  clover- 
ley  was  broken  up,  and  rye  was  sown ;  the  crop  of  which  in 
the  following  year  was  distinguished  by  its  superiority  over 
that  of  an  adjoining  field  whicli  had  been  dunged  upon  a  sum- 
mer fallow.  Indeed,  after  a  number  of  comparative  experi- 
ments, made  by  himself  as  well  as  by  otlier  farmers,  it  appeared 
to  him  beyond  all  question — however  incredible  it  may  seem 
to  those  who  have  not  also  tried  its  effects — that  dung  which 
has  already  passed  the  extreme  point  of  fermentation,  not  only 
lo^es  nothing  by  being  exposed  upon  the  land,  even  during  the 


ON  MANURES.  29 

summer,  but  even  gains.  The  evaporation  may,  indeed,  be 
not  so  great  as  it  is  generally  supposed ;  for,  although  it  is  true, 
that  when  the  dung  is  carted  out  and  spread,  it  then  effects 
the  air  with  a  strong  musky  smell,  yet  there  is  no  mode  of 
avoiding  that ;  and  even  if  there  were,  the  vapour  which  is 
thus  diffused  is  so  tenuous,  light,  and  expansive,  that  doubts 
may  be  entertained  whether  the  quantity  of  sap  which  is  tlius 
evaporated  can  be  very  considerable,  as,  after  a  short  period, 
tlie  dung  does  not  exhale  any  odour.  According  to  the  expe- 
rience of  M.  Thaer,  it  does  not  lose  in  weight;  and  he 
remarks,  that,  if  laid  during  a  few  weeks  upon  a  sammer  fal- 
low, a  number  of  young  plants  of  a  very  vivid  green  will  be 
seen  to  spring  up,  even  upon  spots  which  have  not  come  into 
contact  with  the  dung ;  which  proves  that  its  fertilizing  pro- 
perties were  spread  around,  even  before  it  had  been  buried  in 
the  soil* 

We  have  thus  entered  at  large  into  this  discussion,  because 
we  consider  it  important  to  throw  every  light  upon  the  subject 
of  which  it  may  be  susceptible ;  and  it  besides  contains  some 
strong  reasons  for  the  application  of  long  dung. 

There  are,  however,  many  farmers  who  persist  in  the  use 
of  over-year  muck,  or  that  which  has  been  kept  perhaps  a 
twelve-month,  or  more,  until  it  is  completely  reduced  to  a 
pulp,  in  which  state  it  is  very  commonly  applied  to  turnips. 
It  thus  loses  perhaps  half  its  bulk ;  but  it  is  considered  pecu- 
liarly favourable,  and  even  necessary  to  the  growth  of  that 
crop,  as  its  power  upon  vegetation  advances  it  so  rapidly  as  to 
put  it  promptly  out  of  the  reach  of  the  fly.f     When,  however, 

*  Princypes  Raisonnes  d'Agriculture,  torn.  ii.  p.  315,  $  600.  It  is  difficult 
to  ascertain  the  precise  degree  of  evaporation  arising  from  fresh  dung;  but, 
by  an  experiment  made  by  the  Rev.  St.  John  Priest,  Secretary  to  the  Nor- 
folk Agricultural  Society,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Ciirwen,  of  Workington,  it 
was  found  that  steam  was  evaporated  by  a  piece  of  moist  ground  hekl  under 
a  large  glass  during  a  quarter  of  an  liour,  in  the  month  of  October,  at  the 
«ate  of  about  \k  cwt.  per  acre.     Survey  of  Buckinghamshire,  p.  274. 

This,  indeed,  appears  a  large  amount  within  that  space  of  time;  but,  had 
tho  experiment  been  longer  continued,  it  would  have  been  much  diminished, 
and  would,  no  doubt,  in  a  short  time,  have  entirely  ceased. 

tMr.  Youns,  indeed,  says,  'that  Ions  stable-muck  has  been  carried  out 
for  turnips  in  March,  without  any  stirring,  and  that  the  crops  were  as  good 
as  from  short  muck,  though  the  growth  of  the  plants  was  not  so  quick ;  but 
then  15  loads  of  the  former  were  laid  on  instead  of  12  of  the  latter.  Long 
and  short  dung  have  also  been  mixed  together,  and  laid  upon  strong  land, 
with  good  effect.  It  was  carted  from  the  yard  late  in  the  spring,  forming 
heaps,  which  in  three  weeks  were  turned  over,  and,  within  a  fortnight 
more,  were  laid  upon  turnips  ;  but  the  practice  is  not  common,  nor  very 
likely  to  be  generally  followed.— Norfolk  Report,  chap.  xi.  sect.  iii. ;  Essex 
do.,  pp.  229,  240. 


30  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  process  is  carried  too  far,  and  the  manure  has  been  fre- 
quently turned, — until,  as  said  by  some  farmers,  ^  black  butter 
becomes  black  snuff  :^  it  has  then,  indeed,  been  found  so  com- 
pletely deprived  of  its  nutritive  sap  as  to  produce  no  ettect 
whatever  upon  the  land.  On  the  whole,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  *  that  there  is,  in  the  management  of  dung,  as  in  all 
things  else,  a  certain  point  which  constitutes  the  maximum  of 
profit,  beyond  which  there  is  nothing  but  loss. 

The  management  of  farm-yard  manure,  upon  light  and 
heavy  soils,  should  diifer  according  to  the  use  intended  to  be 
made  of  it ;  for  it  is  generally  employed  in  different  seasons 
and  applied  to  different  crops.  For  light  land,  on  which  the 
most  common  crop  in  the  commencement  of  a  rotation  is 
usually  turnips,  it  requires  to  be  highly  fermented ;  because, 
if  not  incorporated  with  the  ground  in  that  soft  and  sappy 
state  in  which  good  spit  dung  ought  to  be,  the  plants  will  not 
receive  such  immediate  nourishment  as  will  serve  to  push 
them  into  rough  leaf  before  the  attacks  of  the  fly.  But  for 
clays  and  other  strong  soils  generally,  whether  the  manure  be 
applied  to  a  fallow  under  preparation  for  an  autumn  sowing  of 
wheat,  or  in  the  early  part  of  the  spring  for  beans,  as  it  has  a 
longer  time  to  decompose  in  the  soil,  a  less  degree  of  putre- 
faction is  necessary  than  for  turnips.  Potatoes,  also,  though 
grown  on  light  land,  may  be  raised  by  the  use  of  fresh  unfer- 
mented  manure,  because  they  do  not  require  the  same  nutri- 
ment as  turnips  during  their  early  growth,  and  because  they 
are  also  supposed  to  be  assisted  by  the  action  of  long  dung  in 
opening  the  soil. 

When,  therefore,  a  farmer  looks  chiefly  to  a  prompt  return 
through  immediate  benefit  to  the  next  crop,  the  manure  should 
he  thoroughly  rotted  to  the  condition  of  spit  dung  ;  '  but  if  his 
views  extend  to  subsequent  crops,  or  if  the  soil  be  of  a  nature 
to  receive  benefit  by  the  fermentation  and  heat  produced  by 
the  application  of  long  dung,'  then  it  has  been  affirmed  '  that 
preference  should  be  given  to  that  in  a  fresh  state,  provided 
it  be  immediately  ploughed  in  and  totally  covered.'  This, 
however,  although  the  opinion  of  the  author  whom  we  have 
just  quoted,  as  well  as  that  of  several  practical  men,  should 
yet  be  received  with  a  certain  degree  of  caution ;  for,  besides 
the  objections  already  stated  to  manure  of  this  description, 
there  is  such  difficulty  in  ploughing  in  the  straw,  that  much 
of  it  is  necessarily  left  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil,  where  its 
virtues  are  in  a  great  measure  lost;  or,  if  buried  deep  in  cold 


ON  MANURES.  31 

and  retentive  clays,  it  becomes  locked  up  in  the  land,  and  its 
fermentation  is  prevented.  In  order  to  bring-  it  into  such  a 
state  of  decomposition  as  we  have  already  stated,  the  informa- 
tion which  we  have  collected  on  the  subject  may  be  thus  con- 
densed. 

On  most  farms  the  yards  are  commonly  cleared  towards  the 
middle,  or  the  latter  end  of  April ;  though  in  some  this  does 
not  prevent  the  work  from  going  partially  forward  during  the 
winter,  and  thus  preparing  some  of  the  manure  in  succession ; 
at  whatever  period  it  may,  however,  be  done,  the  following  is 
the  most  advisable  method  of  proceeding. 

The  most  usual  mode  is  to  carry  out  the  dung  from  the 
yards,  either  to  some  waste  spot  adjacent  to  the  homestead,  or 
into  the  field  to  which  it  is  meant  to  be  applied,  and  there  to 
leave  it  exposed  to  the  weather,  without  any  other  preparation 
than  turning  it  over,  until  it  be  completely  rotted,  or  else  until 
such  time  as  it  may  be  thought  requisite  to  lay  it  upon  the 
land.  The  better  plan,  however,  is  to  lay  a  bottom  for  the 
dungstead,  consisting  of  a  bed  formed  of  clay  or  sand,  ditch 
and  road  scrapings,  marl,  or  any  similar  substance,  which  must 
be  well  mixed  and  pulverized,  and  then  spread  to  the  extent 
in  length  and  breadth  which  it  is  supposed  the  heap  will 
cover,  and  from  a  foot  to  18  inches  in  depth,  but  raised  at  the 
sides  and  sloped  to  the  centre,  so  as  to  absorb  the  liquor  which 
oozes  from  the  dung  during  the  heating  and  putrefaction  which 
always  take  place  while  it  lies  in  the  heap.  The  yard  dung 
is  then  carted  out,  and  shot  upon  the  bottom ;  one  end  of  which 
is  at  first  left  lower  than  the  other,  in  order  to  render  the 
ascent  easy  to  the  cattle — a  practice,  however,  as  we  shall 
afterwards  see,  which  is  not  always  to  be  commended.  It  is 
then  thrown  slantingly  up  until  the  heap  rises  to  four  or  five 
feet  above  the  foundation ;  after  which,  careful  farmers  raise 
a  coating  of  the  same  materials  as  the  bottom,  a  couple  of  feet 
in  thickness,  which  is  spread  round  the  heap  to  its  full  height : 
or,  when  the  mixen  is  raised  upon  the  field  in  which  it  is 
intended  to  be  applied,  the  soil  may  be  ploughed  around  the 
heap,  and  plastered  or  faced  up  against  the  sides  by  the  back 
of  the  spade.  The  dung  is  then  allowed  to  duly  ferment, 
which  may  be  seen  by  its  sinking,  and  easily  ascertained  by 
thrusting  a  few  sticks,  of  the  common  size  of  broom-handles, 
into  different  parts  of  the  heap,  as  well  as  by  its  steaming  and 
offensive  smell,  which,  however,  subsides  when  it  is  thoroughly 
decomposed.  Dark-coloured  putrid  water  is  also  drained  from 
D 


32  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  heap,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  discharg-e  of 
vapour  and  Huid  will,  if  permitted,  occasion  the  loss  of  some 
portion  of  the  virtues  of  the  manure  ;  in  order  to  guard  against 
which,  a  thin  coat,  of  the  same  kind  as  the  sides,  and  made  as 
fine  as  possible,  is  laid  regularly  and  lig-htly  over  it,  so  that  its 
weig-ht  may  press  equally  and  not  heavily — for,  if  left  in 
lumps,  their  cumbrous  weight  would  force  the  dung  into  holes, 
and  prevent  its  regular  fermentation. 

By  this  covering  of  the  dung  with  a  due  proportion  of  earth, 
or  of  other  coating,  that  loss  is,  however,  in  a  great  measure 
prevented  ;  and  the  bringing  of  the  heap  into  a  state  of  prepa- 
ration either  sooner  or  later,  as  circumstances  may  require  its 
application  to  the  land,  can  be  effected  by  the  denseness  and 
compression  of  the  covering.  The  operation  therefore  requires 
considerable  delicacy;  for,  if  dung,  already  in  an  unfermented 
state,  be  so  closely  pressed  as  to  effectually  exclude  the  air,  it 
will  be  found,  perhaps  at  the  distance  of  several  months,  in  a 
state  very  little  different  from  that  in  which  it  was  put  up ;  or, 
when  it  is  thought  to  be  in  a  perfect  state  of  preparation,  it 
will,  upon  examination,  be  discovered  to  be  only  decayed,  and, 
instead  of  abounding  in  rich  mucilaginous  substance,  to  con- 
sist almost  entirely  of  mere  vegetable  earth. 

This  also  leads  us  to  remark  on  the  common  practice  of 
driving  carts,  with  their  loads,  iipon  the  dunghills ;  the  con- 
sequence of  which  is  that,  as  nearly  the  same  road  is  followed 
by  each  cart  in  crossing  them,  it  is  not  possible  to  draw  load 
after  load  upon  such  a  heap  without  compressing  tliose  parts 
where  the  horses  tread,  and  thus,  instead  of  the  dung  under- 
going a  regular  fermentation,  which  every  part  necessarily 
would  if  it  had  been  thrown  loosely  on  the  heap,  and  of  one 
uniform  thickness,  it  is,  in  some  spots,  consolidated  into  a  mass 
which,  iji  most  instances,  greatly  retards,  and  in  some  entirely 
prevents,  the  process ;  '  becomes  mouldy,  from  want  of  air, 
caloric,  and  moisture, — acquires  a  musty,  turbid  smell, — gene- 
rates fungi, — and  is,  in  that  state,  injurious  to  vegetation.' 
The  system  has  indeed  been  defended  by  some  very  able  men, 
one  of  whom  insists  '  that  the  dung  should  be  drawn  out  of  tJie 
yards,  and  placed  upon  the  bottoms,  tliough  not  in  the  usual 
way  of  throwing  it  up  loosely,  to  cause  fermentation,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  by  drawing  the  carts,  with  their  loads,  upon  the 
heaps,  for  the  purpose  of  compressing  tlie  dung,  and  thereby 
-preventing  fermentation;''  and  another  conceives  tliat  'a 
positive  benefit  will  be  gained  by  this  slight  compression.' 


ON  MANURES.  33 

This  tliflbrence  of  opinion  may  however  have  arisen  from 
attention  not  having  been  paid  to  tlie  different  qualities  of  tlie 
dung-,  as  well  as  to  the  use  intended  to  be  made  of  it.  When 
the  materials  removed  from  the  yard  consist  chiefly  of  litter  in 
a  fresh  or  rough  state,  not  sufficiently  saturated  with  the  urine 
of  cattle,  or  when  the  manure  is  not  intended  to  be  immedi- 
ately applied  to  the  land,  no  serious  damage  can  ensue  from 
driving  the  carts — which  are  usually  drawn  by  one  horse — 
across  the  heap,  when  the  dung  has  risen  to  some  height  upon 
the  foundation ;  but  if  that  operation  be  performed  before  some 
considerable  portion  of  the  dung  be  laid  on,  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence will  be  that  the  bottom,  which  consists  of  either 
of  earth  or  of  other  matter  devoid  of  elasticity,  will  thus  be 
kneaded  into  solid  and  unequal  lumps,  which  will  occasion  tlie 
elfect  complained  of  Care  should  therefore  be  taken  to  make 
the  heap  so  narrow,  that,  by  driving  on  each  side  of  it,  the 
carts  may  be  backed,  and  the  dung  shot  upon  the  pile,  which 
may  then  be  levelled  with  grapes,  or  forks,  and  laid  compactly 
together.  Much  labour  of  the  teams  will  thus  be  saved :  if 
the  object  be  to  prevent  fermentation,  the  dung  may  be  regu- 
larly and  closely  trodden  down  by  the  men  employed  in 
spreading  and  levelling  it ;  and  the  quantity  of  earth  to  be  laid 
over  it  may  be  regulated  accordingly.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  manure  be  intended  for  immediate  use — then  the  dung 
should  be  thrown  lightly  together  without  treading,  and  the 
quantity  of  earth  on  the  sides  and  top  should  be  reduced ;  or, 
if  the  dung  be  of  a  hot  nature,  from  which  too  sudden  or  vio- 
lent fermentation  may  be  apprehended,  a  portion  of  the  earth 
may  be  intimately  blended  with  it,  and  it  will  thus  be  soon 
brought  into  a  fit  state  for  application. 

It  must  not,  however,  escape  observation,  that  store  cattle 
are  often  kept  in  straw-yards  apart  from  other  stock ;  or  else 
that,  when  the  same  yard  is  used,  the  stable  litter  of  horses  is 
thrown  separately  out,  and  thus  produces  two  very  distinct 
species  of  dung.  Attention  should  therefore  be  paid,  in  clear- 
ing the  yards,  to  take  a  few  cart  loads  from  each  kind  alter- 
nately, so  that  the  whole  may  be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  equally 
mixed,  and  heat  alike.  It  will  thus  also  be  seen  if  any  portion 
of  the  dung  is  too  dry,  in  which  case  it  should  be  distributed 
among  that  which  is  wet ;  and  if  there  be  any  general  defi- 
ciency of  moisture,  or  if  the  external  parts  of  the  heap  become 
dry  during  the  process  of  fermentation,  they  should  be  tho- 
roughly wetted.     The  heaps,  too,  should  be  of  moderate  size, 


34  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

by  which  means  they  can  be  turned  and  got  ready  at  different 
periods,  as  occasion  may  require.* 

These  pies — as  they  are  provincially  termed  when  thus 
crusted  over — if  ready  by  the  1st  of  May,  may  be  reasonably 
expected  to  be  in  a  fit  condition  to  be  laid  on  the  summer  fal- 
lows by  the  latter  end  of  July,  though  the  time  required  for 
their  preparation  must  be  governed  by  the  strength  of  the 
dung,  the  weather,  and  the  exact  period  of  its  intended  appli- 
cation. Those  formed  during  the  summer  months,  unless  the 
dung  be  produced  by  horses  and  cattle  kept  in  the  yards  by 
soiling  on  green  food,  can  seldom  be  collected  and  got  ready 
for  use  within  the  same  season ;  but  when  intended  for  turnips, 
the  manure  should  be  carried  out  and  lightly  raised  about  six 
weeks  or  two  months  before  it  is  wanted,  within  ten  days  or  a 
fortnight  of  which  time  it  should  be  very  carefully  turned. 

The  operation  of  turning  is  also  one  that  requires  circum- 
spection. This  is  often  neglected  until  the  heat  of  the  mixen 
is  quite  spent,  its  fermentation  passed,  and  it  is  become 
entirely  rotten.  To  which  glaring  error  is  to  be  added  the 
carelessness  employed  in  that  labour  by  servants,  who,  in 
turning  it  over,  usually  begin  at  one  end,  and  throwing  layer 
upon  layer  as  they  cut  them  through,  place  them  again  in  the 
same  order  in  which  they  found  them,  with  this  only  differ- 
ence, that  the  part  which  was  at  the  top  now  becomes  the  bot- 
tom. Thus  it  has  been  justly  observed  by  Mr.  JVIalcolm,  that 
'  the  benefit  which  might  have  accrued  to  each  ingredient  by 
their  proper  admixture  is  infallibly  lost,  because  the  dung  has 
been  prevented  from  infusing  any  of  its  saline  particles  into 
the  mould,  and  when  laid  upon  the  land,  instead  of  being  a 
body  of  invaluable  manure,  they  are  little  better,  as  such,  than 
as  if  each  ingredient  had  been  immediately  drawn  from  the 
beds  out  of  which  they  were  originally  taken.'     All  this  may, 

*  On  this  subject  Mr.  Cook  is  said  to  have  lately  expressed  himself,  at  a 
public  dinner  in  Norfolk,  to  the  follo<ving  effect : — 'Having made  a  platform 
of  marl,  1  placed  the  inferior  muck  upjon  it;  the  manure  of  the  fat  cattle 
formed  the  third  coating,  and  upon  that  the  horse-dung  as  the  fourth,  and 
ill  about  equal  quantities.  I  then  ploughed  round  it,  threw  up  the  earth, 
and  made  a  kind  of  coating  over  the  whole  to  keep  in  the  gas.  Just  before 
sowhig,  the  heap  was  turned  over;  and  thus,  when  the  muck  was  in  a 
state  of  fermentation,  it  went  into  tlie  drill.  Let  farmers  follow  this  plan, 
and  give  plenty  of  seed,  and  they  will  not  find  their  crops  of  turnips  to  fail  ; 
the  warmth  of  the  manure  would  force  the  turnips  out  of  the  way  of  the  fly 
in  less  than  eight-and-forty  hours.'  In  Dr.  Uigby's  account  of  Holkham, 
it  is  also  stated  that,  by  preparing  manure  iu  this  manner,  Mr.  Coke  saves 
no  less  than  500Z.  per  annum  in  the  purchase  of  rape-cake  as  top-dress- 
ings.—3d  edit.,  p.  56. 


ON  MANURES.  35 

however,  be  easily  avoided  by  cautiously  observing  the  proba- 
ble state  of  the  fermentation  of  each  heap,  and  by  turning"  it 
completely  over,  either  when  it  requires  lightening  or  pres- 
sure ;  by  narrowly  watching  the  process,  so  that  every  part 
may  be  thoroughly  shaken  up,  the  clods  and  lumps  in  the  bot- 
tom, top,  and  sides  well  broken,  the  adhesive  parts  of  the  dung 
separated,  and  moisture  added  if  necessary.  When  this  pro- 
cess has  been  attentively  performed,  it  has  been  recommended 
by  Mr.  Blaikie  'to  immediately  plough  several  furrows  of  the 
natural  soil  all  around  the  heaps,  and  with  the  loose  earth 
ploughed  up  again,  coat  the  heaps  all  over :  the  pies  will  then 
take  a  gentle  fermentation ;  the  earth  intermLxcd  with  and 
covering  the  dung  will  absorb  the  juices  and  gases  of  the  dung, 
and  the  compost  will  come  out  in  a  fine  state  of  preparation  for 
using  on  turnip  land.  From  manure  of  this  description,  in 
which  all  the  materials  are  intimately  blended,  soaked  with 
putrid  water,  and  decomposed  to  a  degree  of  mellow  consist- 
ence, different  sorts,  to  suit  different  soils  and  crops,  cannot 
indeed  be  taken ;  but  perhaps,  with  the  single  exception  of 
potatoes,  this  one  sort  of  farm-dung,  managed  as  above,  may 
be  successfully  applied  to  every  crop,  and  to  every  kind  of  soil. 
Long-dung. — Such  is  the  most  common  practice  with  the 
generality  of  farmers  regarding /ermenfet?  dung ;  but  there  is 
another  system  of  management  advocated  by  some  eminent 
chemists,  who  recommend  that  it  should  be  used  in  a  fresh 
state — that  is  to  say,  after  it  has  begun  to  ferment ;  for  it  is 
well  known  that  dry  vegetable  and  animal  matter  cannot  be 
properly  made  to  serve  as  manure  until  that  process  has  com- 
menced. On  the  effects  of  the  fermentation  of  farm-yard  ma- 
nure, and  the  length  to  which  the  operation  should  be  carried 
before  it  be  applied  to  the  soil,  there  exists  indeed  an  extraor- 
dinary difference  of  opinion  among  the  written  authorities  on 
the  subject,  and  the  practice  of  many  eminent  farmers  is 
equally  at  variance.  It  was  long  ago  asserted,  that  '  there  was 
good  reason  to  believe,  from  many  facts,  that  putrefaction 
was  no  w-ay  necessary  to  the  nutritive  power  of  animal  and 
vegetable  matter,  but  in  so  far  as  it  diminishes  tJieir  cohesion, 
or  destroys  their  texture,  and  renders  them  fitter  for  absorp- 
tion ;  and  as  there  is  considerable  waste  in  gases  and  ammo- 
niacal  and  nitrous  salt  by  their  putrefaction,  it  is  of  importance 
not  to  allow'the  putrefaction  to  take  place  at  all  where  it  is  not 
required  to  break  the  texture.'  In  support  of  that  theory, 
various  other  authorities  were  quoted  by, the  late  Secretary  to 


36  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  Board  of  Agriculture,  in  the  treatise  on  manures  which 
gained  him  the  Bedford ian  medal  of  the  Bath  and  West  of 
Eng-land  Agricultural  Society.  Many  who  previously  doubted 
it  have  been  since  persuaded  of  its  superiority  by  much  practi- 
cal as  well  as  theoretical  evidence  then  brought  forward ;  to 
which  there  has  been  since  added  the  powerful  arguments  of 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  who  thus  expresses  himself: — 

'  Whoever  will  refer  to  the  simplest  principles  of  chemistry 
cannot  entertain  a  doubt  on  the  subject.  As  soon  as  dung 
begins  to  decompose,  it  throws  off  its  volatile  parts,  which  are 
the  most  valuable  and  most  efficient.  Dung  which  has  fer- 
mented, so  as  to  become  a  mere  soft  cohesive  mass,  has  gene- 
rally lost  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  its  most  useful  con- 
stituent elements ;  and  that  it  may  exert  its  full  action  upon 
the  plant,  and  lose  none  of  its  nutritive  powers,  it  should 
evidently  be  applied  much  sooner,  and  long  before  decomposi- 
tion has  arrived  at  its  ultimate  results. 

'  A  slight  incipient  fermentation  is  undoubtedly  of  use  in 
the  dung-hill,  for  by  means  of  it  a  disposition  is  brought  on  in 
the  woody  fibre  to  decay  and  dissolve  when  it  is  carried  to  the 
land,  or  ploug-Jied  into  the  soil,  and  woody  fibre  is  always  in 
great  excess  in  the  refuse  of  the  farm.  Too  great  a  degree 
of  fermentation  is,  however,  very  prejudicial'  to  the  composite 
manure  in  tlie  dung-hill ;  it  is  better  that  there  should  be  no 
fermentation  at  all  before  the  manure  is  used  than  that  it 
should  be  carried  too  far ;  for  the  excess  of  fermentation  tends 
to  the  destruction  and  dissipation  of  the  most  useful  of  its 
parts,  and  the  ultimate  results  of  this  process  are  like  those  of 
combustion.' 

The  sentiments  of  this  celebrated  chemist  are  certainly 
entitled  to  great  weight ;  but  though  we  admit  that  the  fer- 
mentation of  farm-yard  manure  hiay  be  rendered  injurious, 
botli  through  the  waste  which  occurs  in  bulk,  as  well  as  by 
the  loss  of  some  portion  of  its  nutritive  properties,  if  that 
process  be  carried  to  excess,  yet  we  are  inclined  to  doubt  the 
correctness  of  that  position  which  says  '  that  it  should  be 
applied  long  before  decomposition  has  arrived  at  its  ultimate 
results.'  We  think  also,  that  some  distinction  should  be 
drawn  between  the  different  kinds  and  qualities  of  dung,  as 
well  as  of  the  crops  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied,  and  of  the 
season  in  which  it  is  to  be  used,  before  any  such  un-exception- 
able  rule  should  be  adopted  for  its  preparation.  Thus,  to 
recommend   the   application  of  fresh   manure  for  a  crop  of 


ON  MANURES.  37 

turnips,  in  like  mannner  as  for  another  of  potatoes,— for  heavy 
clay  equally  as  for  a  light  sandy  loam,  or  to  draw  no  distinction 
between  the  time  in  which  it  is  to  be  laid  upon  the  land, — • 
rather  affords  evidence  of  theoretic  generalization  than  of 
sound  conclusions,  drawn  from  a  multiciplity  of  well-supported 
experiments,  and  established  by  practical  effect.* 

There  are  perhaps  few  agricultural  subjects  on  which 
theory  and  practice  are  so  much  at  variance  as  in  the  manage- 
ment and  application  of  putrescent  manure.  There  is  hardly 
a  farmer  who  will  not  admit  that  a  crop  of  turnips  may  be 
altogether  risked  if  short  muck  be  not  employed  ;  and  though 
some  of  them  are  often  under  the  necessity  of  applying  a 
portion  of  long-dung,  perhaps  to  the  same  field  on  which  the 
former  has  been  laid,  yet  the  very  drill  on  which  the  two 
kinds  meet  may  in  general  be  distinctly  pointed  out,  while 
potatoes,  on  the  contrary,  are  almost  invariably  planted  on 
fresh  farm-yard  manure :  though  neither  of  these  instances 
prove  either  that  fresh  dung  gains  any  fertilizing  power  by 
fermentation,  or  that  short  muck  loses  it ;  for  these  facts  apply 
only  to  the  mechanical  action  of  the  manures,  and  to  the 
natural  economy  of  the  plants.  It  is  also  generally  admitted 
that  long-dung  is  more  suitable  to  clay  lands  than  to  liglit 
soils,  which  are  rendered  too  porous  by  its  application ;  and,  ui 
like  manner,  fresh  manure  is  objected  to  for  all  spring  crops, 
because  it  is  found  to  keep  the  land  in  too  open  a  state  in  dry 
weather,  and  liable  to  be  burnt  up  in  the  summer. 

Sir  Humphry,  however,  adds — '  that  the  dry  straw  of  wheat, 
oats,  barley,  beans  and  peas,  and  spoiled  hay,  or  any  other 
similar  kind  of  dry  vegetable  matter,  is,  in  all  cases,  useful 
manure.  In  general,  such  substances  are  made  to  ferment 
before  they  are  employed,  though  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  practice  should  be  indiscriminately  adopted.' 

On  which  it  may  be  observed  that  although  in  anotlier 
passage  he  admits  '  that  a  great  objection  against  slightly 
fermenting  dung  is,  that  weeds  spring  up  more  luxuriantly 
where  it  is  applied,' — which  forms  in  itself  a  strong  impedi- 
ment ;  yet  that  is  not  the  only  fault  to  which  it  is  exposed — 
for  it  also  occasions  foul  husbandry.     It  is  scarcely  possible  in 


*  On  this  it  has  been  observed,  that,  in  the  instance  of  turnips.  Sir  Hum- 
phry only  meant  to  say,  'that  tlie  manure  should  be  applied  lovg  before  de- 
composition had  arrived  at  its  ultimate  results  ;'  but  this  does  not  weaken 
the  general  force  of  our  remark,  which  refers  to  the  indiscriminate  use  of 
long  dung. 


38  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

any  soil  to  plough  down  effectually  a  large  quantity  of  rank 
strawy  manure;  tor  even  the  stubbles,  wlien  cut  high,  are 
found  difficult  to  bury,  and  more  especially  on  light  land  this 
fresh  stable-dung  slides  along  the  ground  before  the  breast  of 
the  plough,  and  thus  clogs  the  furrow.  Tlie  harrows  also 
drag  up  considerable  quantities,  which  not  alone  impede  their 
action,  but  a  large  portion  of  the  manure  is  thus  scattered 
over  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  uselessly  left  there  to 
perish ;  and  litter  that  had  been  plouo-hed  down  fresh  has,  in 
numerous  instances,  been  turned  up  in  the  following  spring 
without  any  apparent  change.  Objections  such  as  these  are 
not  easily  obviated,  but  even  were  they  surmounted,  the  value 
of  the  dung  in  that  state  of  preparation  still  remains  to  be 
considered. 

Of  the  mysteries  of  nature  in  her  supply  of  food  to  plants 
we  have  no  certain  information,  and  it  is  even  probable  that 
they  will  ever  elude  discovery.  Some  experiments  whicli 
were  made  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  however,  favoured  tlie 
opinion  '  that  soluble  matters  pass  unaltered  into  the  roots  of 
plants  f  in  support  of  which  he  says — 'that  the  great  object  iii 
the  application  of  manure  should  be  to  make  it  afford  as  much 
soluble  matter  as  possible  to  the  roots  of  the  plants,  and  that 
in  a  slow  and  gradual  manner,  so  that  it  may  be  entirely  con- 
sumed in  forming  the  sap  of  the  organized  plant ;'  in  order  to 
attain  which  effect,  he  admits  '  that  it  must  undergo  chemical 
changes.''  Now,  the  materials  of  which  the  great  bulk  of 
farm-yard  manure  is  composed,  consist  chiefly  of  straw  or 
other  litter,  which,  being  fibrous,  can  only  be  rendered  soluble 
by  fermentation :  but  chemical  theorists  assert  that  this  process 
should  be  perfected  at  least,  if  not  commenced,  underground ; 
for  they  msist  that,  if  completed  in  the  dung-hill,  it  would 
occasion  a  great  loss  of  nutritive  matter;  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  several  practical  men  of  considerable  judgment 
have  become  converts  to  the  same  notion.  Thus,  one  of  the 
latter  body  says — 'that,  although  half- rotted  manure  will 
sooner  disappear  in  the  soil,  and  that  the  crop  sown  along 
with  it  may  often  be  better  than  on  fresh  dung  improperly 
applied,  there  may  be  little  doubt;  but  there  can  be  as  little 
that,  during  the  time  the  latter  is  visible,  it  has  afibrded  the 
greatest  share  of  nourishment;'  and  he  then  asserts,  'that  the 
ravages  of  fermentation  and  exhalation  are  more  to  be  dreaded, 
and  ought  to  be  more  guarded  against,  than  any  other  waste 
to  which  a  heap  of  dung  is  liable.' 


ON  MANURES.  39 

In  contradiction  to  this,  however,  another  writer  upon  the 
same  subject  thus  expresses  himself: — '  The  object  of  applying 
all  kinds  of  manure  is  to  nourish  the  seed  which  is  sown  in  the 
earth ;  and  we  know  from  observation  that  its  development  is 
much  accelerated  by  the  immediate  assistance  of  manure.  If 
manure  requires  to  be  in  a  soluble  state  before  plants  derive 
benefit  from  it,  it  is  evident,  the  greater  state  of  solution  in 
which  the  manure  is,  the  more  easily  will  the  plant  be  enabled 
to  derive  benefit  from  it.  This  point  is  finely  illustrated  by 
the  quicker  efficacy  of  liquid  than  solid  manure  in  nourishing- 
the  plant,  when  both  are  applied  in  equal  strength.  Now,  if 
there  is  no  way  of  making  manure  soluble  but  by  fermentation, 
it  is  also  evident  a  great  degree  of  fermentation  will  dissolve 
all  the  fibrous  portions  of  putrescent  manures  the  more  easily. 
This  point  is  also  well  illustrated  by  a  fermented  dung-hill,  the 
materials  of  which,  if  properly  commixed,  will  ferment  strongly 
for  a  time,  and  then  the  fermentation  will  subside  to  a  low 
degree,  leaving  the  whole  mass  in  that  pulpy,  sappy  state,  than 
which  nothing  can  give  a  better  idea  of  a  soluble  state  of  a 
fibrous  body.  Whether  any  really  nutritive  matter  is  driven 
off"  by  fermentation  before  the  mass  is  brought  to  that  pulpy 
state,  may  be  doubted ;  for  the  evaporation  from  such  a  dung- 
hill appears  to  be  just  the  steam  of  water  in  a  highly  elastic 
state,  glimmering  like  a  hot  haze  in  a  sunny  day,  on  looking 
across  a  ploughed  field.  But  even  should  some  gaseous  matter 
escape  during  fermentation,  this  undeniable  fact  remains  un- 
touched— that  this  fermented,  pulpy,  sappy  mass  of  manure 
will  go  much  farther  in  maintaining  the  fertility  of  land  than 
the  same  bulk,  or  weight,  of  recent  farm-yard  manure.' 

On  the  latter  point  we  thmk  there  can  be  no  rational  doubt; 
for  it  is  very  generally  allowed  that  an  equal  quantity  of  short 
muck,  or  that  which  has  been  merely  reduced  to  the  state  of 
spit-dung,  is  more  immediately  effectual  as  manure  to  the  pre- 
sent crop:  but  the  question  still  remains  to  be  decided — 
Whether  the  same  amount  of  substance,  if  laid  upon  the  land 
previous  to  its  diminution  by  the  loss  of  fluid  and  of  gaseous 
matter,  has  not  a  more  lasting  effect  on  the  improvement  of  the 
soil  ]  It  can  only  be  determined  by  long  experience  upon  dif- 
ferent soils,  seasons,  climates,  crops,  and  rotations;  and  we 
agree  with  Mr.  Finlayson  that,  '  in  order  to  make  a  fair  trial, 
it  might  not  be  unworthy  of  the  agriculturist's  pains  to  place, 
for  example,  a  ton  of  fresh  dung  in  a  favourable  situation  for 
fermentation ;  to  turn  it  over  once  or  twice  ;  and  when  rotted 


40  A  TRACTICAL  TREATISE 

down  to  the  bulk,  weight,  and  consistency  thoug-ht  most  expe- 
dient, or  usually  allowed,  to  put  it  and  a  ton  of  fresh  dung  of 
the  same  sort  on  equal  spaces  of  very  poor  land,  and  weigh  the 
produce  of  the  three  following  crops;  by  which  means  the 
matter  would  soon  be  set  at  rest,  and,  with  the  majority  of 
farmers,  a  greater  uniformity  observed  in  the  management  of 
this  division  of  their  business,'  We  accordingly  extract  a  com- 
parative experiment  made  by  an  intelligent  practical  farmer 
on  three  kinds  of  manure,  and  on  a  cultivated  soil  witliout  ma- 
nure— half  a  rood  of  ground  being  allowed  for  each — as  fol- 
lows : — 

Successive  Crops  and  Produce  from  a  single  application  of  the  following 
Quantities,  viz : — 
Fresli  stable-dung    Eotten  dung,        Dry  Barley-straw  No 

in  a  strawy  state.     Sioonthsold,    buret  on  the  ground,    manure. 
3  tons.  2  tons.  15  cwt. 

PER  ACRE.        PER  ACRE.  PER  ACRE.       PER  ACRE. 

1st  crop  Turnips,   18cwt.  6st.  61b.    16cwt.  lst.41b.    8cwt.  3st.  7  lb.     1st.  8  lb. 
2d  crop  Barley,       30  bush.  2  pks.    36  bush.  3  pks.    30  bush.  1  pk.     14  bush. 

3pks. 
3d  crop  Clover,       20cwt.  21cwt.  IScwt.  Scwt. 

4th  crop,  Oats,        38  bush.  40  bush.  18  bush.  32  bush. 

As  to  the  feed  after  the  clover,  it  was  about  equal  to  the 
expense  of  getting  in  each  crop  respectively,  with  a  small  sur- 
plus on  the  plot  manured  with  rotten  dung. 

To  complete  this  experiment,  there  should,  however,  have 
been  a  notice  added  of  the  proportion  of  w^eight  which  fresh 
stable-dung  would  lose  w^ithin  eight  months;  for  three  tons 
would  scarcely,  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  amount  to  more 
than  half  that  quantity  of  completely  rotted  dung;  though 
when  farm-yard  manure  is  reduced  one-third  in  weight,  the 
fermentation  may  be,  in  most  cases,  considered  as  far  enough 
advanced  for  the  general  purposes  of  agriculture.  Supposing 
the  original  quantities  to  have  been  equal,  the  above  experi- 
ment would  be,  in  every  part  of  the  rotation,  in  favour  of  rotted 
dung,  with  the  exception  of  the  inferiority  of  the  turnip-crop, 
which,  in  this  instance,  remarkably  contradicts  the  practice  of 
its  application ;  though,  without  more  clear  information  regard- 
ing the  soil,  the  culture,  and  the  weather,  no  positive  conclu- 
sion can  be  drawn  from  that  fact. 

In  his  remarks  upon  the  formation  of  dung-heaps,  Sir 
Humphrey  justly  observes — '  that  an  immeasurable  quantity 
of  substance  disposed  for  conversion  into  food  for  plants  is  suf- 
fered to  escape  in  the  form  of  drainings  and  vapour.  During 
the  violent  fermentation  which  is  necessary  for  reducing  farni- 
yard  manure  to  the  state  in  which  it  is  called  "  short-miick^'^ 


ON  MANURES. 


41 


not  only  a  large  quantity  of  fluid,  but  likewise  of  gaseous  mat- 
ter, is  lost ;  so  much  so,  that  the  dung  is  reduced  one-halti  and 
from  that  two-thirds  or  more,  in  weight.  Now,  the  principal 
elastic  matter  disengaged  is  carbonic  acid,  with  some  ammo- 
nia; and  both  these,  if  attracted  by  the  moisture  in  a  soil,  and 
retained  in  combination  with  it,  are  capable  of  becoming  nutri- 
ment' Reasoning  on  which,  he  says — '  that,  within  the  last 
seven  years,  Mr.  Coke  has  entirely  given  up  the  system  of 
applying  fermented  dung ;  and  he  informs  me,  that  his  crops 
-  have  been  as  good  as  ever  they  were,  and  that  his  manure 
goes  nearly  twice  as  far.'  He  then  sums  up  his  arguments 
with  directions  for  the  management  of  putrescent  manure,  in 
the  following  terms : — 

'  Where  farm-yard  dung  cannot  be  immediately  applied,  the 
destructive  fermentation  of  it  should  be  prevented  as  much  as 
possible.  For  this  end  the  dung  should  be  kept  dry  and  un- 
exposed to  the  air;  for  the  moisture  and  contact  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  tends  to  excite  fermentation.  To 
protect  a  heap  from  rain,  a  covering  of  compact  marl,  or  of  a 
tenacious  clay,  should  be  spread  over  the  surface  and  sides  of  it. 
Watering  dung-hills  is  sometimes  recommended  for  checking 
fermentation ;  but  this  practice,  although  it  may  cool  the  dung 
for  a  short  time,  is  inconsistent  with  just  views*,  for  moisture  is 
a  principal  agent  in  all  processes  of  decomposition:  dry  fibrous 
matter  will  never  ferment.  Water  is  as  necessary  as  air  to 
the  process,  and  to  supply  it  to  fermenting  dung  is  to  supply 
an  agent  which  will  hasten  its  decay.'  'If  a  thermometer 
plunged  into  the  dung  does  not  rise  above  100°  of  Fahrenheit, 
there  is  little  danger  of  much  aeriform  matter  flying  off;  if 
the  temperature  is  higher,  the  dung  should  be  immediately 
spread  abroad.' 

There  is  no  ground  for  contesting  the  fact  that  a  large 
quantity  of  fluid  and  of  gaseous  vapour  is  allowed  to  escape 
during  the  common  process  of  reducing  farm-yard  manure  to 
the  state  of  short  muck ;  but  the  practical  inference  deduced 
therefrom  can  only  be  proved  by  experiments  on  a  much 
broader  scale  than  those  which  have  been  yet  submitted  to 
the  public. 

The  separation  of  a  rich  fluid  substance,  drained  from  a 
mass  of  dung,  must,  doubtless,  diminish  the  fertilizing  power 
of  the  manure  in  the  proportion  in  which  it  has  been  ex- 
tracted ;  but  these  drainings  can  either  be  preserved  in  tanks, 
and  afterwards  either  thrown  over  the  heap  or  applied  to  the 


42  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

land  in  their  liquid  form ;  or,  should  the  construction  of  such 
reservoirs  prove  inconvenient,  the  waste  of  the  liquor  rnay  be 
prevented  by  raising  the  dung-hill  in  the  manner  already 
stated  in  our  account  of  the  preparation  of  farm-yard  manure. 
The  application  of  such  moisture  cannot  be  considered  as  a 
loss;  and  we  have  already  seen  that  even  that  of  watering 
dung-hills  is  sometimes  necessary  to  prevent  them  from  be- 
coming fire-fanged. 

The  escape  of  gaseous  matter  is  caused  by  the  heat  created 
by  fermentation  ;  and  if  we  look  to  the  state  of  a  ikrm-yard,  we 
sliall  find  that  the  moment  the  dung  is  thrown  out,  trampled 
upon,  and  wetted  by  the  cattle,  that  process  is* commenced, 
although  the  temperature  of  the  heap  should  be  far  below 
100°.  But  although  the  bulk  of  the  manure  is  thus  diminished 
by  the  evaporation,  yet  the  effect  upon  vegetation  of  the  am- 
monia contained  in  the  vapour  has  not  been  conclusively 
ascertained ;  nor  is  there  any  proof  that  animal  and  vegetable 
substances,  while  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  contribute  to  its 
support ;  for  it  appears  from  numerous  experiments,  that  rank 
manure,  although  forcing  the  early  growth  of  living  plants, 
yet  eventually  contributes  to  their  premature  decay.  Practice 
has  long  since  decided  that  it  is  injurious  to  turnips,  to  which 
crop  it  is  more  profusely  applied  than  to  any  other  :*  it  renders 
corn  crops  foul;  and  on  light  and  poor  land,  which,  containing 
but  little  nutriment  in  the  soil,  requires  all  that  can  be  fur- 
nished to  it  by  the  manure  for  the  support  of  the  present 
plants,  its  effect,  though  often  seen  to  occasion  them  to  push 
forth  with  great  apparent  vigour,  yet  frequently  leaves  them 
deficient  in  grain  and  subject  to  rust.  The  potato  is,  indeed, 
almost  the  only  plant  to  which  it  has  been  found  decidedly 
friendly;  but  even  that  is  in  many  soils  known  to  succeed 
better  with  short  dung. 

Respecting  the  effect  of  unfermented  dung  on  Mr.  Cokeys 

*  Mr.  Walker,  of  Mellendean,  who  rents  about  2800  acres  of  arable  land, 
has  found  by  the  experience  of  thirty  years,  that  a  small  quantify  of  rotten 
dung  is  sufficient  for  a  crop  of  turnips,  and  that  all  the  succeeding  crops,  in 
the  common  rotation,  are  also  generally  good;  but  he  could  never  raise  a 
full  crop  with  long  fresh  dung,  which,  from  its  openness,  tends  to  admit 
drought,  instead  of  affording  moisture  and  nutriment  to  the  roots,  while 
they  are  young  and  tender.  lie  is  therefore  at  considerable  expense  in  car- 
rying out,  turning  and  re-turning  his  dung-hills,  so  as  to  have  the  dung  in  a 
putrid  state  when  laid  upon  the  land  in  the  month  of  June.  After  all,  he  is 
every  year  obliged  so  to  manure  a  part  of  his  turnip  land  with  fresh  dung, 
and  whenever  that  is  laid  on,  the  crop  i*  invariably  much  inferior, — Husbandry 
of  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  161. 


ON  MANURES. 


43 


crops,  it  has  been  observed,  in  the  treatise  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded,  that  the  statement  is  only  entitled  to  weight 
upon  the  construction  either  that  some  of  the  manure  made  on 
the  farm  tliat  was  expended  under  the  old  system  is  disposable 
for  some  other  purpose  under  the  new ;  or  that  some  expense 
in  fetching  manure  from  distant  places,  that  had  used  to  be 
iniiurred,  is  saved.  For,  if  the  assertion  'that  his  crops  have 
been  as  good  as  ev5r  they  w^ere,  and  go  nearly  twice  as  far,' 
means  only  that  the  dung  when  now  expended  is  nearly  twice 
as  much  in  bulk  or  weig-ht,  and  covers  the  surface  of  the  field 
more  thickly  in  the  same  proportion,  the  benefit  is  merely 
illusory,  as  the  crop  does  not  thus  appear  to  be  increased;  but 
if  the  meaning  is,  'that  twice  the  surface  is  manured  as  etfect- 
ually  with  the  same  quantity  of  dung' — then,  indeed,  we 
should  say  that  the  new  plan  may  be  fairly  considered  as 
entitled  to  the  most  serious  consideration. 

The  same  author,  indeed,  mentions  an  instance — cited  in 
Dr.  Thomson's  System  of  Chemistry — of  an  experiment,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  periods  when  putrescent  manures 
begin  to  produce  their  eflects,  and  the  length  of  time  during 
which  they  continue  to  operate,  are  proportioned  to  the  degree 
of  putrefaction  under  which  they  are  applied.  Two  pieces  of 
the  same  kind  of  soil  wore  manured — the  one  with  a  mixture 
of  dung  and  straw  highly  putrefied,  the  other  with  the  same 
proportions  of  dung  and  straw  newly  mixed,  and  the  straw 
almost  fre.-h.  It  was  then  observed  that,  during  the  first  year, 
the  plants  which  grew  on  the  putrefied  dung  produced  a  much 
better  crop  than  the  other;  but  the  second  year,  the  ground 
which  had  been  manured  wath  the  fresh  dung  produced  the 
best  crop:  the  same  result  took  place  in  the  third  year,  after 
which  both  pieces  seemed  to  be  equally  exhausted.  This, 
however,  only  showing  that  the  one  was  productive  of  the 
best  crop  in  the  first,  and  the  other  in  the  second  year,  proves 
nothing  more  than  an  equality  of  final  effect  upon  the  land: 
upon  which  it  cannot  escape  reflection,  that  when  the  state  of 
the  soil  does  not  require  progressive  improvement,  the  first 
crop  is  generally  the  main  consideration  with  the  farmer ;  he 
naturally,  therefore,  wishes  to  place  it  beyond  the  reach  of 
those  contingencies  to  which  it  might  be  exposed  by  any 
deficiency  of  effective  manure.  A  knowledge  of  chemical 
principles,  indeed,  leads  to  the  inference,  that  dung  ought  to 
be  used  in  a  recent  state ;  and  it  has  been  thence  assumed, 
'that  any  disappointment  which,  in  practice,  may  have  at- 


44  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

tended  tlio  adoption  of  that  inference,  will  be  fotmd  to  have 
arisen,  not  from  a  defect  in  the  theory,  but  from  a  want  of  due 
observation  of  circumstances  in  its  application.'  But  whatever 
may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  scientific  agriculturists  in 
favour  of  unfermented  manure,  the  experience  of  practical 
men  may,  in  most  cases,  excuse  a  doubt  of  its  expediency.*  (a) 

Regarding  the  application  of  straw,  which  the  Professor 
thinks  '  should  be  ploughed  into  the  soil  in  a  fresh  state,  and 
that,  in  order  to  facilitate  its  mixture  with  the  earth,  it  might 
be  chopped  small  with  a  machine,'  we  deem  it  almost  unneces- 
sary to  add  any  thing  more  to  the  observations  we  have  already 
made,  except  the  record  of  an  experiment  made  upon  dry 
wheat  straw,  which  was  regularly  laid  in  the  hollows  of  drills, 
and  potato-sets  placed  over  it.  The  straw  and  sets  were  then 
covered  with  earth,  yet  very  few  of  the  potatoes  ever  appeared 
above  ground,  and  these  only  towards  the  end  of  autumn. 
When  the  ground  was  ploughed  up,  the  straw  seemed  to  have 
undergone  no  change,  nor  did  it  impart  any  sensible  benefit 
to  subsequent  crops.  Had  the  same  straw,  however,  been 
previously  subjected  to  only  a  moderate  degree  of  fermenta- 
tion, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its  effects  would  have  been 
very  different;  for,  in  most  soils,  potatoes  thrive  in  dung 
which  abounds  in  litter  that  has  been  very  slightly  fermented. 

In  fine,  although  coinciding  in  the  opinion  that  the  decom- 
position of  putrescent  manure  may  be — and  is  very  generally — 
carried  too  far,  and  that  its  value  is  materially  lessened  by  an 
excess  of  putrefactive  fermentation,  yet  experience  proves 
that,  to  a  certain  extent,  it  is  absolutely  requisite,  though  its 


*In  the  papers  selected  from  the  Correspondence  of  the  Bath  and  West 
of  England  Society,  there  are  queries  proposed  by  the  Board  of  Agriciilturo 
on  several  subjects  connected  with  cultivation.  The  answer  hy  one  of  their 
most  distinguished  members  to  that  regarding  manure,  is  as  follows  : — 

'  What  are  the  effects  of  dung  and  other  manures  upon  the  taste,  Jiavour,  and 
wholesomeness  of  vegetahles  ?' 

'  If  the  dung  be  completely  rotten,  the  effects  will  be  quickness  of  growth, 
succulence,  crispness,  and  delicacy  of  flavour.  I  strongly  suspect  that  the 
application  of  ill-digested  manure  to  land  is  an  evil  productive  of  very  great 
injury.  Worms  and  grubs  are  multiplied  thereby— the  most  noxious  vapours 
are  propagated;  and  probably,  the  diseases  in  our  grain  crops  may  originate 
in  tiiis  circnmstance.  I  cannot  believe  that  the  delicate  tibres  of  a  root, 
making  an  efl'ort  to  penetrate  a  clod  of  putrefying  dunir,  can  escape  un- 
injured; and  vegetable  diseases,  I  presume,  often  commence  at  the  root.' — 
Vol.  ix.  art.  xix.  p.  235.  'I  have  known  recent  manure  check  vegetation.' 
—Ibid.  p.  232. 

(a)  [The  rankness  of  fresh  manure  docs  not  affect  Indian  corn,  or  most 
root  crops;  but  injures  wheat  and  other  grains— increasing  the  liability  to 
blight  or  mildew.] 


ON  MANURES.  45 

positive  effects  upon  vegetation  are  still  so  doubtful  that  the 
degree  can  only  be  ascertained  by  observation.  The  main 
agents  of  the  process  are  water,  heat,  and  air.  If  a  dung-lieap 
be  much  wetted,  the  operation  proceeds  very  slowly;  but  when 
only  moisture  is  retained  sufficient  to  condense  it,  then  it  pre- 
sently heats,  and  the  fermentation  proceeds  so  violently  that, 
if  not  checked,  a  large  portion  of  its  bulk  seems  to  escape  by 
evaporation ;  though,  if  this  be  only  the  effect  of  the  condensa- 
tion of  its  materials,  and  if  its  weight  be  not  also  reduced,  the 
residue  may  perhaps  be  thus  rendered  more  nutritive.  The 
opposite  result  may,  however,  be  the  fact ;  for  it  may  be  ob- 
served that,  if  a  quantity  of  farm-yard  dung  be  removed  from 
a  dung-hill  and  turned  loosely  to  the  air,  though  it  may  be 
cool  at  first,  yet,  if  moderately  wet,  it  will  soon  generate 
heat;  it  will  smoke  violently,  and  emit  a  very  pungent 
effluvium:  from  which  it  may  be  conjectured,  that  the  nutri- 
tive properties  of  the  manure  would  have  been  better  pre- 
served if  it  had  not  been  exposed  to  further  fermentation. 
Care  should  therefore  be  taken  to  preserve  those  exhalations 
from  being  dissipated,  and  it  will  be  probably  found  that  the 
object  will  be  sufficiently  attained  if  the  vegetative  power  of 
seed-weeds  be  destroyed,  and  the  fibres  of  the  straw  be  reduced 
to  the  state  of  spit-dung. 

Some  fermentation  will  necessarily  be  ever  going  on  in 
the  dung-heap;  but  there  is  little  danger  of  its  being  carried 
too  far  if  the  ingredients  which  it  contains  be  well  and  pro- 
perly mixed.  If  horse-dung  alone  be  employed,  it  will  soon 
proceed  to  an  excess,  occasioned  by  its  own  internal  heat,  that 
will  deprive  it  of  every  fertilizing  quality;  but  if  mixed  with 
the  cooler  dung  of  horned  cattle,  that  risk  will  be  in  a  great 
measure  avoided.  Then,  if  the  dry  contents  of  the  covered 
sheds  be  also  added  to  the  mass  of  wet  litter  in  the  straw-yard, 
the  whole  mixture  will  undoubtedly  not  ferment  beyond  the 
point  best  suited  to  render  it  immediately  available.  'In  a 
large  dung-hill,  of  such  a  mixture,  the  heat  of  the  active  fer- 
mentation subsides  in  it  long  before  any  of  its  useful  parts  are 
destroyed,  and  long  before  even  all  the  water  which  it  contains 
is  evaporated  out  of  it ;  for,  on  examination,  the  manure  will 
be  found  to  be  quite  short,  and  easily  lifted  with  the  fork  or 
shovel ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  will  be  saturated  with  the 
richest  black-coloured  juices,  which  appear  to  be  the  essential 
parts  of  urine  deprived  of  their  water.'  We,  therefore,  con- 
sider it  as  the  opinion  of  a  large  majority  of  the  most  intelli- 


46  A  PRACTICAL   TREATISE 

g-ent  farmers,  that  dung  should  not  be  laid  upon  the  land  until 
it  has  underg-one  such  a  change  as  may  be  sufficient  to  destroy 
the  seeds  and  insects  which  it  may  contain.  This,  however, 
cannot  be  effected  except  by  a  putrid  fermentation,  which, 
under  common  farm  management,  cannot  be  completed  until 
the  heap  be  decomposed  and  cool ;  for  otherwise,  the  operations 
of  cartage,  spreading,  and  ploughing  in  the  manure,  while  in 
a  state  of  heat,  would  dissipate  the  gaseous  matter,  and  thus 
occasion  the  loss  of  that  in  which  its  nutritive  powers  are 
partly  supposed  to  consist. 

Produce  of  Strmo  and  Dung. — The  quantity  of  straw 
grown  per  acre  depends  upon  such  a  variety  of  circumstances 
touching  soil  and  cultivation,  season,  and  kind  of  crop,  that  it 
is  quite  impossible  to  form  any  precise  calculation  on  the 
subject.  Estimates  have  however  been  made  of  the  average 
weight  of  different  sorts  produced  by  the  various  species  of 
grain,  from  which  a  general  idea  of  their  gross  amount  may 
be  formed.  Although  it  is  clear  that  nothing  like  accuracy 
can  be  expected  on  that  point,  yet  it  is  in  the  power  of  every 
farmer  to  form  a  tolerably  exact  notion  of  the  weight  of  all  the 
straw  actually  grown  upon  his  own  land  ;  and  coupling  this 
wdth  the  number  of  his  live-stock  and  the  nature  of  their  food, 
he  will  probably  be  able  to  make  out  such  a  rough  calculation 
of  the  gross  quantity  of  farm -yard  manure  as  may  not  be  far 
from  the  truth.  Such  an  account  may  indeed  appear  at  first 
sight  to  be  more  curious  than  useful ;  but  crops  depend  in  a 
great  measure  on  yard-dung,  and  their  rotation  must  be  regu- 
lated, on  most  soils,  by  its  amount ;  it  is  therefore  important  to 
ascertain,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  quantity  on  which  a  man 
who  is  dependent  upon  its  production  alone,  without  purchased 
manure,  can  rely,  before  he  lays  his  plan  for  the  ensuing  year. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  estimates  alluded  to: — 

31  cwt.  or  3472  lbs.      .    ..    wheat    ....     160sf.  or  3520  lbs. 
25        "       2810        .     .   *.    beans  and  pease      130     "    2660 
25        "        2800        .     .     .     oats         ....     130     "    2860 
20        "       2240        .     .     .     barley  ...     100     "    2200 

Rye,  about  3  loads  of  36  trusses  each,  or  3888  lbs. 

The  yield  of  different  years  varies  the  proportion  which  all 
grain  and  pulse  bear  to  the  straw;  but  the  average  of  wheat  is 
about  12  bushels  to  the  load,  which,  according  to  the  practice 
in  most  parts  of  England,  consists  of  36  trusses  of  361bs.  each, 
and  weigns  llcwt.  2qrs.  81bs. ;  but  according  to  the  above 
statement,  the  whole  average  of  the  kingdom  is  supposed  to 
be  about  1}  ton  per  statute  acre. 


OJN  MANURES. 


47 


It  has  however,  been  calculated  by  Dr.  Coventry,  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Agriculture  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  that  ara- 
ble land  of  a  medium  degree  of  fertility  and  management,  is 
capable  in  ordinary  years,  of  producing,  in  round  numbers,  per 
imperial  acre,  about  28  bushels  of  wheat,  36  bushels  of  barley, 
and  42  bushels  of  oats;  and  that  the  average  quantity  of  straw 
yielded  by  those  crops  will  amount  to  21  cwt.  He  then  states 
that,  supposing  this  dry  straw  to  be  moistened  and  rotted,  it 
would  thereby  gain  an  addition  to  its  weight  equal  to  two- 
thirds,  or  between  three-lburths  and  two-thirds  of  its  gross 
weight — thus  producing  about  3j  tons  of  manure  :  and  admit- 
ting that'some  corn  is  consumed  in  the  feed  of  horses,  as  well 
as  that  the  refuse  of  the  grain,  the  chaff  and  light  corn,  besides 
the  straw,  go  ultimately  to  the  dung-heap,  '  one  cannot  reckon 
the  amount  of  the  putrescent  manure  gained  from  an  acre  of 
such  produce  at  more  than  4  tons.'  But,  judging  by  the  like 
proportion  of  moisture  of  different  parcels  produced  by  straw, 
pulse,  hay,  or  herbage  of  any  sort,  '  it  is  likely  tliat  a  full  pro- 
duce of  turnips,  potatoes,  or  cabbages,  would  furnish  even  a 
considerably  greater  weight,'  By  an  experiment  very  care- 
fully made  by  Mr.  Dudgeon,  of  Prora,  in  East  Lothian,  it  how- 
ever appears  that  dry  straw  had  only  increased  by  absorption 
from  300  to  719  stone,  during  a  period  of  seven  months ;  which 
is  materially  at  variance  with  the  Doctor's  estimate  of  the 
addition  to  its  weight.  It  seems,  however,  from  the  statements 
of  several  eminent  farmers,  that  1  ton  of  straw,  when  aug- 
mented in  weight  by  the  dung  and  urine  of  turnip-fed  stock, 
will,  if  properly  managed,  produce  about  4  tons  of  farm-yard 
manure  ;*  but  others,  with  more  justice  we  think,  are  of  opinion 
that  such  a  quantity  can  only  be  produced  when  the  common 
number  of  cattle  on  farms  in  the  ordinary  course  of  cultivation 
are  also  fed  in  the  usual  way — upon  hay,  clover,  and  corn,  as 
well  as  turnips,  besides  being  well  littered  with  straw.  Its 
weight  and  value  will  of  course  be  affected  by  its  state  of  pre- 
paration, as  well  as  by  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  its  cultiva- 
tion. Meadow  land  which  produces  If  tons  of  hay  per  acre 
has  been  calculated  to  give  6  2-5,  or  rather  more  than  6  tons 
of  manure  per  acre,  and  the  fallow  crops  produce  a   large 

*  Sinclair's  Code  of  Agriculture,  3d  edit.,  pp.  215,  440;  Scottish  Hus- 
bandry, 2d  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  37'J,  and  jjassim.  A  liorwickshire  farmer  gives  a 
siuL'le  cart-load  of  turnips  per  day  to  eight  or  ten  cattle  in  the  straw-yard. 
He  finds  that,  on  an  average  of  three  years,  from  2i  to  3  acres  of  straw  will 
winter  one  of  those  oxen;  and  in  this  way  each  acre  of  straw  will  produce 
about  four  double  cart-loads  of  rotten  dung,  of  from  30  to  35  cubic  feet  each. 
e2 


48  ,  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

amount;  the  land,  therefore,  without  assuming:  any  extraordi- 
nary degree  of  fertility  or  management,  should  yield,  upon  an 
average,  at  least  4  tons  of  manure  per  acre ;  to  which  if  be 
added  the  extraneous  substances  which  may,  with  due  care, 
be  collected  without  expense  from  the  roads,  the  ditches,  the 
ponds,  and  from  refuse  of  every  kind  about  the  house  and 
premises,  the  acreable  amount  should  be  amply  sufficient  for  a 
full  supply  of  manure  once  during  every  course  of  the  four- 
years'  system  of  husbandry. 

We  fear,  however,  that,  looking  to  the  system  of  cultivation 
pursued  on  most  farms,  the  quantity  of  manure  produced  falls 
far  short  of  that  amount.  JNIuch,  indeed,  depends  upon  its 
judicious  management,  for  a  good  farmer  will  accumulate  per- 
haps nearly  twice  as  much  dung  as  his  more  indolent  and 
inattentive  neighbour,  and  apply  it  in  better  condition  to  th-e 
land,  though  their  opportunities  are,  in  this  respect,  the -same. 
No  means  should,  therefore,  be  neglected  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency; in  which  view,  besides  the  extension  of  the  soiling 
system,  we  should  strongly  recommend  that  corn  crops  should 
be  cut  as  low  as  possible,  so  as  to  increase  the  bulk  of  straw. 
When  the  stubble  is  left  high  and  ploughed  in,  it  retards  the 
operation,  renders  the  land  foul,  and  is,  on  some  soils,  injurious 
by  rendermg  them  too  open.  It  is,  indeed,  in  many  places 
mown,  and  converted  into  walls  for  the  comfort  of  the  cattle. 
In  Derbyshire  a  paring  plough  is  used,  by  which  the  roots  of 
the  corn  and  weeds  are  cut,  and  the  stubble  and  other  stuiT  is 
then  carried  home  to  be  trodden  into  muck;  but  the  produce 
does  not  pay  the  expense,  and  it  has  been  found  a  more  econo- 
mical practice,  when  it  can  be  carried  into  effect,  to  burn  the 
stubble  on  the  ground,  by  which  insects  and  the  seeds  of  weeds 
are  destroyed.  Even  when  raked  up,  it  has  been  considered 
advisable  to  spread  and  burn  it  on  the  land,  as  it  is  thought  to 
have  a  great  effect  hi  preventing  the  ravages  of  the  fly  on 
turnips.* 

Compost. — We  have  already  observed  upon  the  expediency 
of  mixing  the  bottoms  and  crusts  of  dung-pies  with  the  other 
materials  of  which  they  are  composed  when  they  are  turned 
over;  but  the  quantity  may  not  only  be  greatly  augmented  by 


*  See  the  Furveys  of  Essex,  vol.  i.  p.  325;  Ilimtingdonshire,  p.  128; 
Derbyshire,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  121,  131,  lOO.  In  a  work  puhlished  about  a  century 
ayo,  and  ascribed  to  Lord  Belhaven,  it  is  asserted  that  the  goodness  of  the 
E:ist  l.oihiaii  crofjs  was  attributable  to  the  length  of  their  stubbles.  'A 
t'ood  crop  of  corn  makes  a  {rood  stubble  ;  and  a  good  stubble  is  the  equalest 
auukiiii:  thai  can  be  given.'— The  Countryman's  Rudiments,  p.  23. 


ON  MANURES.  49 

a  larger  addition  of  earth,  but,  by  imbibing  the  juices  of  the 
dung,  a  compost  is  thus  formed,  of  excellent  quality  in  its 
application  to  most  crops,  as  well  as  soils,  and  especially  to 
grass-land.  It  has  indeed  been  objected  to  this,  that  the 
mixture  of  earth  increases  the  size  of  the  dung-hill  without 
adding  to  its  virtue,  while  the  expense  of  carriage  is  also  thus 
unnecessarily  incurred,  aud  that  the  more  manure  is  reduced 
to  its  essence  the  better.  But,  although  this  may,  in  some 
instances,  be  true,  yet  experience  proves  that  a  compost  of 
this  nature  becomes  converted  into  a  very  fertile  mould,  and 
in  some  sorts  of  unkindly  land,  small  dressings  are  of  little 
benelit.  On  such  soils,  portions  of  pure  rotten  dung  get  fast 
locked  up  in  large  clods,  and  are  rendered  useless  to  that 
crop;  but  the  increase  of  bulk,  by  the  addition  of  earth,  admits 
of  a  much  larger  heap  being  applied,  as  well  as  of  being  more 
readily  united  with  the  ground  by  the  plough,  so  as  to  render 
the  tilth  more  manageable.  In  many  cases,  the  mixture  has 
been  theretbre  found  essentially  useful ;  and  though  the  charge 
of  cartage  is  certainly  an  object  of  moment,  yet  that  may  be 
lessened  by  forming  the  composts  upon  the  headlands  of  the 
fields  to  which  they  are  to  be  applied.  They  may  also  be  put 
together  at  any  time  of  the  year,  which,  especially  in  summer, 
is  of  itself  an  incalculable  advantage.  The  ground  should, 
however,  in  that  case,  be  previously  summer-fallowed,  unless 
it  be  entirely  free  from  weeds ;  or  a  small  quantity  of  quick- 
lime may  be  added  to  the  earth,  but  it  should  not  be  allowed 
to  come  into  immediate  contact  with  the  dung.  When,  how- 
ever, the  economy  of  carriage  is  not  thought  an  object  of  so 
much  consequence  as  to  confine  the  raising  of  the  compost  to 
any  particular  spot,  it  will  be  advisable  to  select  earth  of  the 
alluvial  sort,  which  is  always  of  a  rich,  greasy  nature,  often 
mixed  with  marl,  and  well  calculated  to  invigorate  poor  soils 
of  a  light  and  open  texture:  or  loam:  or,  if  nothing  of  the  kind 
is  to  be  had  on  the  farm,  then  with  earth  of  a  quality  as  oppo- 
site as  possible  to  that  which  predominates  in  the  soil  on  which 
it  is  to  be  laid;  and  the  whole  should  be  well  turned,  so  that 
it  may  be  suitably  fermented.  The  operation  is  thus  per- 
formed : — 

A  bedding  is  formed  of  earth,  or  of  sods  with  the  grass 
uppermost,  upon  which  a  layer  of  fresh  dung  is  placed — the 
fresher  the  better — about  a  foot  in  thickness ;  upon  that  ano- 
ther layer,  equally  as  thick,  is  laid, — if  of  sods,  doubled,  with 
the  grass  sides  turned   back  to  back,  so  as  to  present  one 


50  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

surface  to  the  dung  underneath,  and  the  other  to  the  next 
uppermost.  In  this  manner  the  heap  is  raised  to  the  height 
of  5  or  G  feet,  when  it  is  entirely  covered  witli  eartJi,  but 
formed  narrow,  as  well  as  high,  in  order  to  expose  a  large 
surface  to  the  air.  Sometimes  lime  is  added,  but,  in  that  case, 
it  !>hould  be  either  placed  between  two  layers  of  earth ;  or,  if 
between  the  sods,  the  grass  should  be  reversed,  and  the  lime 
be  deposited  between  tliem,  or  between  the  earth  and  another 
layer  of  any  other  ingredient  not  so  easily  decomposed  as  the 
dung.  The  heap  then  ferments,  and  in  that  state  it  is  left 
until  it  be  completely  cooled  to  the  centre.  When  the/heat 
has  ejitirely  subsided,  the  compost  is  to  be  then  turned  in  such 
manner  as  that  not  only  the  uppermost  part  sliall  be  under- 
neath, but  also  that  the  outward  portion  be  put  in  the  middle, 
and  that  the  whole  be  intimately  mixed.  If  any  part  of  the 
dung  be  dry,  it  should  be  well  and  equally  wetted, —  if  possible 
with  urine,  or  with  the  drainings  of  tlie  farm-yard, — as  each 
layer  is  removed,  and  previous  to  their  mixture.  The  number 
of  turnings  must  depend  upon  the  state  of  putrefaction  of  the 
dung,  as  well  as  tliat  of  the  turf,  if  sods  or  other  materials 
have  been  added.  The  proportion  of  dung,  orotiier  putrescible 
siibsr'tance,  to  earth,  must  be  governed  by  the  qualities  of  both, 
and  by  the  judgment  of  the  farmer  in  their  selection  and  use. 
The  following — which  has  been  adopted  in  Norfolk — will 
afford  a  general  idea  of  the  mixture  of  such  a  compost,  when 
confined  to  mould  and  farm-yard  dung  : — 

Mould  for  the  bottom      .        .        .        .160  loads. 
Dung  from  the  bullnck-yard  and  stables, 

a  load  of  each  alternately     ...  .  112  loads. 

Mould  for  the  next  layer  .        .  42 

Dung  for  ditto .48 

Mouid  for  the  top  and  sides         .        .  42 

Total  244     +     ICO  =  404  loads ; 

wliich,  afler  being  turned  twice  over,  produced  300  loads  of 
manure,  and  was  intended  for  20  acres. 

Another  jtractice  prevails  among  many  farmers,  which,  so 
far  as  the  production  of  manure  is  concerned,  has  the  advan- 
tage of  allowing  the  compost  to  imbibe  the  whole  of  the  urine 
in  the  yard,  but  which  is  also  attended  with  the  inconvenience 
f)f  bedding  the  cattle  in  a  manner  which,  without  great  care 
in  its  frequent  removal,  must  expose  them  to  much  want  of  ♦ 
comfort.     It  is  as  follows : — 

Turf,orany  other  species  of  earth,  is  spread  over  the  yard  to  the 
depth  of  upwards  of  2  feet,  except  around  the  buildings,  to  the 


ON  MANURES.  51 

extent  of  perhaps  6  or  7  feet,  which  is  left  as  a  path.  It  is 
then  laid  over  with  straw,  to  which  the  litter  from  the  stables 
is  also  added,  and  upon  this  bed  the  feeding-cribs  of  the  store 
cattle  are  placed.  In  this  manner  the  dung  is  often  allowetl 
to  accumulate  durmg  the  entire  winter,  or  until  it  rises  to 
such  an  inconvenient  height  as  to  compel  its  removal ;  it  is 
then  either  piled  in  the  yard,  after  being  mixed  and  covered 
over  witli  earth,  and  left  there  until  it  may  be  wanted  in  the 
autumn,  or  else  carted  out  to  the  mixen,  and  there  treated 
as  already  stated. 

In  using  turf,  or  any  kind  of  grass,  in  the  mixture  of  a  com- 
post, it  will  be  proper  to  recollect  that,  if  taken  up  during  most 
parts  of  the  summer  and  autumn,  it  will  not  only  be  found 
generally  impregnated  with  the  seeds  of  weeds,  but  that  grub- 
worms,  wire-worms,  and  various  other  insects,  usually  select 
dry  banks  by  the  road-side,  hedge-rows,  or  dry  pasture,  in 
which  to  deposit  their  eggs.  When  turf  or  earth  is  carried 
from  such  places,  and  added  to  the  compost  without  having 
been  previously  subjected  to  the  processes  of  tillage,  the 
greatest  care  should  be  taken,  either  that  it  be  turned  up  a 
full  twelvemonth  before  it  is  applied  to  the  land ;  or,  as  we 
have  already  observed,  that  quicklime  be  strewed  between 
the  sods,  in  order  to  guard  against  every  chance  of  their  pro- 
pagation. 

The  Application  of  Dung  to  different  soils  and  crops, 
though  matter  of  wide  discretion  to  the  farmer,  is  yet  a  subject 
which  admits  of  a  few  general  directions.  Notwithstanding 
what  has  been  already  said  respecting  the  practice  of  those 
farmers  who  allow  this  manure  to  lie  for  a  long  time  upon  the 
surface  of  the  land,  we  however  agree  with  the  opposite 
opinion — that  it  should  be  spread  the  moment  it  is  taken  from 
the  cart,  and  completely  incorporated  with  the  soil;  for  by 
tillage  it  becomes  amalgamated  with  the  inert  particles  of  the 
earth,  through  which  means  both  that  and  the  dung  form  one 
substance  in  the  fittest  state  of  nourishment  to  promote  vege- 
tation.* It  should  not,  however,  be  deep  buried  in  the  soil  at 
first ;  for,  though  it  is  the  prevailing  opinion  of  many  persons, 

*  This  has  been  exemplified  by  the  observations  of  Marshall  upon  a  crop 
of  wheat  of  4  quarters  the  acre  obtained  from  his  own  farm,  after  peas, 
which  had  been  dunped  and  thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  soil ;  w  hile 
another  field  of  wheat,  sown  at  the  same  time,  and  fresh  dun^'ed  with  fine 
spit-dung,  superior  both  in  quality  and  quantity,  but  which  had  been 
ploughed  in  large  lumps  along  with  the  seed,  only  produced  2  quarters.— 
Min.  of  Agric. 


52  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

that,  by  deep  covering-,  the  dung-  is  defended  from  the  injurious 
effect  of  exhalation — that  the  roots  of  plants  soon  find  their 
way  to  it — and  that  it  will  be  raised  higher  by  after-ploug-h- 
ing^s, — yet  there  are  men  of  accurate  observation  who,  from 
longf  experience,  have  found  tiiat,  if  dung  be  only  just  covered, 
the  nearer  it  is  to  the  surface,  the  greater  are  its  effects  in 
projnoting  fertility,  for  then  it  lies  near  the  roots  of  youn^ 
plants  at  the  time  when  they  need  the  most  cherishhig  ali- 
ment. They  also  declare,  that  dung  never  rises  to  the  surface 
after  it  has  lain  mixed  for  a  se-ason  with  the  soil ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  tliat,  as  it  dissolves  in  the  earth,  the  solution  descends 
as  low  as  the  soil  has  been  stirred  by  the  plough. 

It  is  another  rule  in  the  application  of  farm-yard  manure, 
among  good  farmers,  not  to  use  a  greater  quantity  at  one  time 
than  may  be  supposed  capable  of  producing  a  good  crop; 
for,  although  land  can  hardly  be  rendered  too  rich  for  the  pro- 
duction of  green  crops,  yet  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  rye  have 
often  been  so  much  injured  by  a  profuse  supply  of  dung,  that 
they  have  run  almost  entirely  to  straw.  We  have  lately  seen 
wheat,  on  good  and  well-tilled  land,  in  tiie  possession  of  an 
extensive  coach-master,  which  has  scarcely  yielded  two  quar- 
ters the  acre,  in  consequence  of  the  application  of  stable-dung; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  a  good  crop  of  grain  cannot  be 
grown  upon  a  dunghill.  It  should  not,  however,  be  too  spar- 
ingly  administered,  for  if  an  insufficient  quantity  be  laid  on,  it 
may  not  reimburse  the  expense;  whereas  a  full  supply  will 
probably  have  the  effect  of  producing  an  abundant  crop.  A 
medium  should  therefore  be  observed ;  but  so  much  depends 
upon  circumstances, — upon  the  strength  of  the  manure,  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  and  the  intended  crop  and  culture, — that  no 
precise  amount  can  be  stated.  Various  calculations  have 
indeed  been  m.ade  by  different  writers  upon  the  subject,  but 
they  are  generally  so  vague,  that  they  only  estimate  the  quantity 
in  loads,  by  which  no  precise  meaning  can  be  defined,  for  it 
must  depend  upon  the  size  of  the  cart;  and  even  when  calcu- 
lated in  cubic  yards,  the  weight  will  differ  according  to  the 
state  of  the  manure,  though  one  cubic  yard  of  well-rotted  dung 
may  be  generally  supjwsed  to  average  about  11  cwt.  A  well- 
heaped  one-horse  cart  will  carry  nearly  a  ton,  and  those  drawn 
by  two  horses  about  li  ton;  a  small  wagon  is  also  commonly 
supposed  to  contain  two  cubical  yards,  each  consisting  of  27 
bushels,  when  estimated  by  strike-measure,  and  twice  as  much 
if  iieaped ;  or  a  proportionate  quantity  in  weight. 


ON  MANURES.  53 

On  strong  soils,  tarm-yard  manure  is  very  commonly  applied 
to  a  summer-tallow  for  wheat ;  and  when  that  process  forms 
part  of  the  rotation,  it  is  the  opinion  of  most  intelligent  hus- 
bandmen that  it  can  at  no  time  he  more  profitably  employed. 
The  season  is  then  so  far  advanced  as  to  have  afforded  time  for 
the  preparation  of  the  winter  dung,  which,  on  clay-land,  where 
g'reen  crops  are  not  generally  grown,  and  the  practice  of  sum- 
mer soiling  is  not  adopted,  is  otherwise  a  difficult  matter ;  but 
when  applied  to  corn-crops,  it  should  be  either  already  decom- 
posed, or,  if  ire'sh,  it  should  be  allowed  to  remain  so  long  in  the 
ground,  previous  to  the  seed  being  sown,  as  to  allow  of  its  fer- 
mentation being  completed ;  for  it  will  otherwise  occasion  the 
growth  of  weeds,  which,  if  not  eradicated,  mn.y  ripen  before 
the  ensuing  harvest,  and  thus  infest  tlie  land  with  future  foul- 
ness. When  the  operation  has  been  well  performed,  and  the 
ground  has  been  thus  completely  cleansed,  it  is  then  found  to 
be  so  well  divided,  that,  if  minute  attention  be  also  paid  to  the 
spreading  of  the  dung,  it  becomes  so  thoroughly  intermixed  with 
the  soil  as  to  insure  a  greater  return  than  if  it  had  been  laid 
on  during  any -other  periods.  The  practice  is  also  not  uncom- 
mon of  laying  it  upon  clover  leys  preparatory  to  a  crop  of 
wheat,  or  of  spreading  it  upon  green-sward  a  };ear  or  two  before 
the  land  is  broken  up ;  but  the  advantages  of  this  latter  mode 
have  been  doubted  by  some,  though  many  experienced  practi- 
cal farmers  highly  recommend  it. 

On  light  land,  on  which  the  rotation  of  crops  usually  com- 
mences with  turnips,  it  has  been  found  by  experience  that  the 
dung  should  be  well  rotted ;  it  is  therefore  generally  mixed 
twice,  in  order  to  get  it  into  a  fit  state;  but,  as  Swedes  are 
commonly  put  in  the  ground  by  the  middle  of  ]\Iay,  the  manure 
cannot  be  properly  prepared  by  that  time,  unless  the  yards 
have  been  cleared  during  the  winter,  and  much  of  that  which 
is  thus  applied  is  over-year  muck.  This,  when  the  crop  is 
drilled,  is  laid  as  evenly  as  possible  in  the  hollows  of  one-bout 
ridges,  which  are  afterwards  split  by  a  double-mould-board 
plough,  which  covers  the  dung,  by  turning  them  over,  and  the 
seed  is  immediately  sown  above  it ;  but  when  sown  broadcast, 
it  is  regularly  laid  over  the  land,  generally  before  the  last 
ploughing,  though  some  farmers  give  it  a  second  stirring*. 
When  potatoes  are  planted,  the  manure  used  is  almost  invaria- 
bly stable-dung,  when  it  can  be  procured  in  sufiicicnt  quantity, 
which  is  laid  in  a  shallow  seed  furrow,  immediately  under — or, 


54  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

in  some  cases,  over  the  cuttings ;  but  care  should  be  taken  that 
it  be  put  so  deep  in  the  ground  as  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the 
harrows,  or,  otherwise,  their  hold  of  the  straw  might  occasion 
the  sets  to  be  removed  from  their  seed-bed. 

Even  when  bare  fallows  become  necessary  to  clean  the  land, 
soils  of  this  description  are  rarely  dunged  when  followed  by 
corn;  for  they  are  thereby  rendered  so  open — especially  if 
long  dung  be  used — thaj^  the  plants  are  apt  to  be  thrown  out 
by  slight  frost  in  the  sprmg,  and  perish  for  want  of  a  sufficient 
hold  of  the  ground.  This  necessity  for  the  employment  of 
rotten  dung  not  only  lessens  its  bulk,  but  it  must  be  also  borne 
iu  mind  that  the  same  quantity  of  straw  is  not  produced  as 
upon  rich  clays;  and  although  the  deficiency  of  manure  thus 
created  may  be  partly  made  up  by  feeding  sheep  upon  turnips, 
as  well  as  by  a  smaller  quantity  being  used  than  upon  strong 
land,  yet  the  exhaustion  of  light  soils  is  more  rapid  ;  they  there-' 
fore  require  more  frequent  replenishment,  and  no  pains  should 
be  spared  to  increase  the  amount  of  dung. 

On  grass  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  where  the 
finest  meadow-hay  in  the  kingdom  is  grown,  dung  of  every 
kind  is  laid  on  in  all  states,  both  fresh  and  rotten ;  and  much 
town-manure,  or  street-slop,  partly  in  a  liquid  state,  is  thrown 
over  the  ground  in  the  same  condition  as  when  taken  out  of 
the  carts  and  barges.  It  is  a  cold,  clayey  district,  lying  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Thames,  in  Hertfordshire  and  Middlesex,  and 
has  been  brought  to  its  present  fertility  solely  by  the  aid  of  an 
unceasing  application  of  manure;  many  of  the  farmers  being 
under  covenants  in  their  leases  to  lay  on  a  thick  coat  of  stable- 
dung,  thoroughly  rotten,  in  every  third  year:  others  apply  it 
fresh, — in  which  state  it  is  said  that,  'load  for  load,  it  is  to  the 
full  as  good  as  when  rotten,' — and  after  it  has  been  washed  in 
by  the  rain,  the  straw  that  remains  is  raked  otf  and  added  to 
the  dung-hill.  There  can  perhaps  be  little  doubt  that  dressing 
the  land  with  dung  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  when  diluted 
with  water,  is  the  surest  way  oi"  imparting  nourishment  to 
plants;  and  in  that  view,  after  the  hay  has  been  carried  off" the 
land,  farmers  watch  for  a  change  of  weather,  and,  when  the 
barometer  indicates  an  approaching  fall  of  rain,  they  lay  on 
whatever  manure  they  possess;  but,  if  the  season  continues 
settled,  the  dung  remains  untouched  until  about  the  end  of 
September,  at  which  time  it  is  applied  while  the  ground  is 
sufficiently  dry  to  bear  the  drawing  of  loaded  carts  without 


ON  MANURES.  55 

injury,  and  when  the  heat  is  so  moderate  as  not  to  exhale  its 
volatile  parts.* 

In  all  these  cases  the  product  is  abundant,  because  the  land, 
though  cold,  yet  grows  good  grass,  and,  whatever  may  be  the 
nature  of  the  manure,  sufficient  is  always  laid  upon  it  to  secure 
a  crop;  but  it  is  only  in  the  vicinity  of  the  metropolis,  or  in 
otlier  great  towr.s,  and  through  means  of  purchased  manure, 
that  such  a  supply  can  be  obtained  as  that  given  to  the  land  in 
question. 

The  use  of  compost  of  earth  and  farm-yard  dung  has  been 
used  as  an  argument  against  its  employment  upon  meadow- 
land,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  its  entrance  into  the  soil,  and 
that  pure  dung  has  a  more  immediate  effect  upon  the  crop. 
Upon  land  such  as  that  just  mentioned,  the  objection  is  well 
founded ;  but  upon  soils  of  a  loose  texture,  the  mixture  of  earth 
— particularly  of  clay — with  the  dung,  by  increasing  the  bulk 
to  be  laid  upon  the  land,  tends  to  bind  it,  and  thus  giving  a 
firm  hold  to  the  roots  of  the  grass,  the  finer  sorts,  which  either 
have  not  strength  enough  to  penetrate  the  ground,  or  the  seeds 
of  which  have  lain  dormant,  suddenly  spring  up,  and  the  sward 
is  thus  improved.  Of  this  a  striking  instance  in  point  has 
been  related  by  Mr.  Dawson  of  Frogden,  who,  '  having  occa- 
sion to  carry  a  quantity  of  very  fine  black  loam  from  a  head- 
ridge  of  old  in-field  land,  to  give  the  surface-water  a  free  pas- 
sage, it  was  laid  upon  out-field  bent- grass-land  adjoining,  of 
which  it  covered  about  a  quarter  of  an  acre  fully  an  inch  thick. 
No  grass-seeds  were  sown  upon  this  new  covering,  yet  white 
clover  and  other  fine  grasses  sprung  up,  and  gradually 
increased  upon  it;  and  the  bent,  upon  which  the  loam  was 
laid,  diminished  so  speedily,  that  very  little  of  it  remained  in 
the  third  year  thereafter.'  It  is,  however,  well  known  that 
the  effect  of  dung  is  proportionately  greater  upon  good  tlian 
upon  bad  land,  and  the  difference  is  still  more  considerable 
upon  that  which  is  under  grass  than  what  is  arable;  for 
it  is  observable  that  the  dung  of  animals  has  scarcely  any 
effect  upon  coarse  pastures,  but  it  perceptibly  improves  those 
which  are  covered  with  the  finer  grasses,  and  is  of  more  or 
. J 

*  Middlesex  Report,  2d  edit.,  pp.  286,  287,  377.  In  the  Leicestershire 
Report  it  is  also  said,  'Dung  or  compost  should  be  laid  on  meadow-land 
immediately  after  the  hay  is  carried  off;  for  as  at  that  time  the  ground  13 
generally  the  driest  of  any  time  of  the  year,  carting  on  it  will  not  cut  the 
turf:  there  is  the  least  grass  to  destroy;  it  insures  good  aftermath  ;  and  the 
winter  rains  will  wash  all  the  manure  into  the  soil,  so  that  it  will  receive 
the  whole  benefit  of  the  dressing. 

F 


56  ,  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

less  value,  as  herbage  of  the  former  or  latter  description  pre- 
dominates. This  improvement  is,  however,  far  more  sensible 
when  aided  by  the  application  of  lime,  as  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  notice  wlicn  we  come  to  treat  of  that  fossil. 

There  is,  indeed,  evidently  a  mistaken  practice  throughout 
most  parts  of  the  kingdom  with  respect  to  the  application  of 
manure.  The  custom  alluded  to  is  that  of  laying  it  upon  land 
of  an  inferior  quality,  while  that  of  a  superior  kind  is  in  equal 
want  of  improvement ;  the  better  part  of  many  farms  being 
thus  in  some  degree  impoverished  by  attempting  to  improve, 
at  an  evident  loss,  the  poorer  parts.  Others,  indeed,  follow 
the  opposite  system ;  but,  when  justice  is  done  to  the  land, 
every  part  in  rotation  should  receive  the  manure  arising  from 
its  produce.  There  are,  however,  some  rare  instances  of  ground 
of  so  rich  a  quality,  that  by  laying  any  manure  upon  it  an  injury 
would  be  sustained ;  but,  upon  the  whole,  it  is  an  evident  fact 
that  any  manure  whatever — if  not  of  a  nature  unsuitable  to  the 
soil — will  be  always  attended  with  a  proportionately  better 
return  when  laid  upon  good,  than  upon  poor  land. 

In  tlie  spreading  of  dung  upon  the  land,  the  common  prac- 
tice is  to  put  it  first  out  of  the  carts  in  hillocks,  and  afterwards 
to  spread  it  upon  the  ground.  Many  farmers,  however,  take 
the  opportunity  of  carting  out  their  manure  during  a  frost,  and 
there  leaving  it  in  heaps  until  a  thaw.  The  convenience  of 
this  is  evident;  and  perhaps,  during  that  weather,  no  great 
damage  will  happen  to  the  dung,  nor  can  much  of  its  juices 
be  imbibed  by  the  soil :  but  if  thus  left,  even  for  a  short  time, 
in  open  weather,  the  spots  upon  whicii  it  is  laid  get  more  than 
their  share  of  the  dressing,  for  the  moisture  is  imbibed  by  that 
part  under  the  manure,  whilst  the  upper  parts  are  dried  by 
the  action  of  the  air,  and  lose  some  portion  of  their  fertilizing 
power.  Its  effect  is  thus  unequal;  the  crop  will  vegetate 
more  luxuriantly  on  those  spots,  and  the  harvest  will  not  be 
uniform.  There  is  also  tliis  inconvenience  in  thus  leaving  it 
upon  the  soil — that,  if  the  land  lies  upon  a  declivity,  a  consi- 
derable portion  of  the  manure  may  be  washed  out  by  the  rain, 
and  either  carried  to  the  lower  part  of  the  field,  or  else  lost  in 
the  ditches. 

Another  mode  is  for  both  the  carter  and  the  spreader  to 
stand  in  the  cart,  and  shake  the  manure  out  with  forks ;  but 
although  this  has  the  advantage  of  a  more  ready  distribution, 
yet,  if  the  men  drop  a  forkfiil  by  accident,  or  do  not  scatter  a 
lump  in  the  manner  intended,  they  cannot  stop^  to  divide  it, 


ON  MANURES.  67 

and  it  must  lie  where  it  falls.  The  repeated  stoppage  of  the 
horses  also  occupies  much  time.  Both  these  modes  are  there- 
fore attended  with  inconvenience. 

When  carefully  done,  the  distance  to  which  the  dung  is 
to  be  carried  to  the  field  should  be  ascertained,  and  such  a 
number  of  carts  employed  as  will  give  constant  occupation  to 
both  the  men  and  cattle:  thus,  supposing  three  to  be  sufficient, 
then  two  teams  only — of  whatever  number — are  to  be  worked, 
one  gomg  and  the  other  returning,  while  the  third  cart  is  left 
standing  at  the  dung-hill  to  be  filled,  and  replaced  by  the  one 
which  has  returned  empty,  the  cattle  in  which  are  then  taken 
oft'  and  harnessed  to  the  other,  so  that  no  time  is  lost.  It 
should  be  spread  immediately,  and  can  never  be  done  at  any 
other  time  so  cheaply.  It  is,  indeed,  decidedly  the  most 
economical  method  for  the  carter  to  spread  it  from  the  car- 
riage ;  but  as  he  cannot  do  this  with  the  minuteness  which  is 
requisite  to  separate  it  completely  and  spread  it  equally  over 
the  soil,  such  a  number  of  women  or  children,  attended  by  an 
overseer,  should  be  employed  to  follow  the  carts,  as  will  effect 
this  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  That  number  will  of  course 
be  regulated  by  the  condition  of  the  manure,  the  quantity  to 
be  used,  and  the  distance  from  which  it  is  drawn.  The  farmer 
himself,  or  some  trusty  person  in  whom  he  can  confide,  should 
not  only  determine  the  number  of  loads  that  are  to  be  spread 
upon  each  acre,  but  should  careftiUy  regulate  the  distance 
which  each  load  should  cover,  by  measuring  the  quantity  of 
land:  this,  when  it  is  laid  on  in  regular  ridges,  is  very  easily 
ascertained  by  pacing  them,  and  summing  up  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  ridges ;  and  then  it  is  only  needful  to  direct  the 
carter  to  make  each  load  cover  a  certain  space, — as  one  load 
upon  one  ridge,  or  three  loads  upon  two  ridges,  &:c.  But  if  it 
is  determined  to  lay  down  the  manure  in  small  heaps  for  the 
followers  to  spread  entirely,  m  this  case,  the  distance  of  each 
separate  heap  should  be'  pa^ed  over  and  marked.*  The 
regularity  of  the  distribution*of  manure  ought  never  to  be 
intrusted'  to  common  labourers  without  superintendence.  _  If 
the  carter  be  employed,  unless  a  boy  be  given  him  to  drive, 
tlie  necessary  degree  of  equality  can  hardly  be  expected.  It 
may  also  be  sometimes  advisable  to  lay  a  larger  quantity  upon 
one  part  than  upon  another  of  the  same  field,  for  the  soils  may 


*  A  table,  stating  the  number  of  heaps  or  bushtls  per  acre,  will  be  inserted 
at  the  close  of  the  volume. 


58  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

differ ;  or  it  may  lie  upon  a  declivity,  in  which  case  it  will 
only  be  prudent  to  put  more  upon  the  upper  part  than  upon 
the  bottoms;  for,  even  under  the  most  careful  distribution, 
they  assuredly  will  receive  an  additional  portion,  which  will 
be  swept  from  the  heights.  Care  is  also  requisite,  in  carting- 
out  dung  and  all  manure,  to  make  the  drivers  keep  on  the 
head-land  till  they  come  to  the  end  of  the  land  which  is  ma- 
nuring, so  as  to  make  each  ridge  bear  its  exact  proportion  of 
damage ;  or,  for  want  of  such  attention,  the  men,  if  left  to 
themselves,  make  roads  across  from  the  gate  in  every  direc- 
tion, to  the  great  injury  of  the  crop. 

Such  is  the  most  approved  mode  in  the  broadcast  manner ; 
but  where  the  drill  husbandry  prevails,  it  is  by  no  means  un- 
usual to  lay  the  dung  in  the  intervals  of  these  small  ridges,  as 
practised  for  turnips  throughout  Scotland  and  the  north  of 
England.  The  drills  are  in  this  case  generally  formed  at  the 
distance  of  27  inches,  or  thereabouts,  from  the  centre  of  each ; 
and  by  driving  the  carts  along  the  middle  one  of  the  space 
intended  to  be  manured,  the  dung  is  drawn  out  in  such  pro- 
portions as  may  be  judged  necessary.  If  the  breadth  of  three 
drills  be  only  taken  at  a  time,  the  dung  stands  a  better  chance 
of  being  equally  laid  in  them ;  for  it  often  happens  that,  when 
a  greater  number  are  included  in  one  space,  the  outside  drills 
receive  a  less  quantity  than  those  which  intervene.  Others, 
however,  thinking  that  by  only  taking  three  drills  at  a  time, 
the  travel  of  the  horses  is  unnecessarily  increased,  take  five 
drills  into  one  space;  but,  in  that  case,  the  number  of  spreaders 
must  be  increased,  as  at  least  one  is  requisite  to  each  drill, 
and  unless  care  be  taken  in  the  superintendence,  some  ine- 
quality will  occur  in  the  distribution.  It  is,  however,  obvious 
that  the  labour  of  the  teams,  as  well  as  the  poaching  of  the 
land,  will  be  thereby  lessened ;  and  if  a  sufficient  number  of 
spreaders  be  employed,  the  work  will  also  be  more  speedily 
executed.  Women  and  children,  having  light  grapes,  or 
forks,  are  strong  enough — four  are  generally  Ibund  sufficient 
for  what  is  called  'a  head  of  carts;'  and  the  spreading  is 
adroitly  performed  even  by  small  boys  and  girls,  after  they 
have  been  a  little  time  accustomed  to  the  task. 

It  is  obvious  in  the  plnuffhinq-  down  of  dung  that,  if  it  be 
not  turned  down  accurately,  it  becomes  partly  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere,  instead  of  being  buried  in  the  soil.  Skim-coulter 
ploughs  have  been  used  to  obviate  this  inconvenience,  but — 
especially  in  the  case  of  long-dung — there  is  great  difficulty 


ON  MANURES.  59 

in  preventing-  it  from  choking-  the  instrument,  thus  occasioning 
a  great  increase  of  draught  to  the  cattle,  as  well  as  of  labour 
to  the  ploughman,  rendering  the  land  foul,  and  defeating  one 
of  the  main  objects  of  good  husbandry.  It  is  also,  by  some 
farmers,  thought  expedient  to  bury  fresh  dung  so  deep  below 
the  soil  as  to  allow  it  to  ferment  there  without  being  disturbed 
by  the  harrows,  or  even  by  the  shallow  ploughing  of  successive 
tillage;  but,  independently  of  the  objection  which  has  been 
already  raised  against  that  practice,  it  is  notj  in  any  such  case, 
found  easy  to  make  clean  work. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  correct  this  fault,  and 
considerable  improvement  has  been  effected  in  the  construc- 
tion of  ploughs,  particularly  by  the  Scotch,  some  of  whose  iron 
swing  ploughs  have  gone  far  towards  a  remedy  of  the  defect. 

As  relating  to  the  quantity  o'l  farm-yard  dung  necessary 
for  raising  a  course  of  crops  upon  arable  land  of  various  soils, 
and  under  different  systems  of  cultivation,  with  the  proportion 
which  they  are  capable  of  producing ;  this  it  is  an  object  of 
primary  importance  to  ascertain,  as  precisely  as  possible. 
Assuming  some  admitted  facts  as  data  upon  which  to  ground 
our  opinion  of  the  quantity  of  putrescent  manure  which  may 
be  generally  sufficient  for  an  acre,  we  nearly  agree  in  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Doctor  Coventry,  and  collected  from  many 
other  accounts,  that  from  four  to  five  tons  are  yearly  requisite 
of  that  kind  commonly  prepared,  and  in  its  usual  state  of 
decomposition,  as  spit-dung.  According  to  that  calculation,  it 
must  also  be  observed  that  the  course  of  crops  is  supposed  to 
consist — on  light  soils,  of  the  alternate  plan  of  corn  and  green 
crops, — on  clays  which  do  not  admit  of  that  system,  that  the 
holding  contain  a  proportionate  quantity  of  grass-land ;  and 
that  the  quantity  of  manure  should  be  supplied,  not  in  small 
quantities  annually,  but  in  large  ones,  at  intermediate  dis- 
tances of  four,  five,  or  six  years.  Light  soils,  in  the  common 
course  of  husbandry,  rarely  require  the  application  of  putres- 
cent manure  oftener  than  once  in  four  years,  and  in  all  cases 
where  the  clover  is  allowed  to  stand  during  two  seasons,  it 
may  be  deferred  without  disadvantage  for  another  year. 
Heavy  soils  may  run  six  years  without  it,  provided  that  the 
land  be  laid  one  year  in  fallow,  and  that  there  be  sufficient 
meadow  to  be  reckoned  at  least  as  one  crop  in  the  course.  It 
being,  however,  clearly  understood,  that — whether  on  light  or 
heavy  land — nothing  but  grain,  seeds,  and  live  stock  is  to  be 
sold  off  the  farm,  unless  replaced  witJi  an  equal  portion  of 
f2 


60  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

purchased  dung-;  that  the  whole  of  the  green  crops,  the  hauhii 
of  pulbc,  and  the  straw  of  corn  be  used  in  the  most  economical 
rniinner;  and  that  some  of  the  live  stock  be  either  soiled  or 
fitleued  upon  oil-cake:  which  plan,  if  carefully  pursued  on 
^ood  soils,  with  capital  sufficient  to  secure  an  abundant  work- 
ing and  fdUing  stock  of  cattle,  ought,  under  fair  management, 
to  furnish  an  adequate  supply  of  dung  for  any  of  the  usual 
courses  of  culture. 

Having  thus  submitted  to  our  readers  all  that  occurs  to  us 
of  importance  on  the  subject  of  farm-yard  manure,  we  shall 
here  recapitulate  a  summary  of  the  chief  points  which  we' 
deem  particularly  worthy  of  their  consideration: — 

1.  To  bottom  the  farm-yard  with  any  loose  refuse  that  takes 
the  longest  time  to  dissolve;  and  over  that  to  bed  it  deep  with 
SI  raw,  2.  To  occasionally  remove  the  cribs  of  store  cattle  to 
different  parts  of  the  straw-yard,  in  order  that  their  dung  may 
be  dropped,  and  their  litter  trodden  equally.  3.  To  spread  the 
dung  of  other  animals,  when  thrown  into  the  yards,  in  equal 
layers  over  every  part.  4.  To  remove  the  dung  from  the  yard 
at  least  once,  or  oftener,  during  the  winter,  to  the  mixen. 
5.  To  turn  and  mix  all  dung-hills,  until  the  woody  or  fibrous 
texture  of  the  matter  contained  in  them,  and"  the  roots  and 
seeds  of  weeds,  be  completely  decomposed,  and  until  they  emit 
a  foul  putrid  smell;  by  which  time  they  reach  their  greatest 
degree  of  strength,  and  arrive  at  the  state  of  spit-dung.  6,  To 
keep  the  dung  in  an  equal  state  of  moisture,  so  as  to  prevent 
any  portion  of  the  heap  from  becoming  fire-fanged.  If  the 
fermentation  be  too  rapid,  heavy  watering  will  abate  the  heat; 
but  it  will  afterwards  revive  with  increased  force,  unless  the 
heap  be  either  trodden  firmly  down  or  covered  with  mould  to 
exclude  the  air.  7.  To  ferment  the  dung,  if  to  be  laid  upon 
arable  land  during  the  autumn,  in  a  much  less  degree  than 
that  to  be  applied  before  a  spring  sowing.  8.  To  lay  a  larger 
quantity  on  cold  and  wet  lands  than  on  those  of  a  lighter 
nature;  because  the  former  require  to  be  corrected  by  the 
warmth  of  the  dung,  while  on  dry,  sandy,  and  gravelly  soils, 
the  application  of  too  much  dung  is  apt  to  burn  up  the  plants. 
Stiff  land  will  also  be  loosened  by  the  undecayed  fibres  of  long- 
dung,  which,  although  its  putrefaction  will  tiius  be  retarded, 
and  its  fertilizing  power  delayed,  will  yet  ultimately  afford 
nourishment.  9.  To  form  composts  with  dung,  or  other  animal 
and  vegetable  substances,  and  earth,  for  application  to  light 
soils.     10.  To  spread  the  manure  upon  the  land,  when  carried 


ON  MANURES. 


61 


to  the  field,  with  the  least  possible  delay ;  and,  if  laid  upon 
arable,  to  turn  it  immediately  into  the  soil.  11.  To  preserve 
the  drainage  from  stables  and  dung-hills  in  every  possible  way; 
and  if  not  applied  in  a  liquid  state,  to  throw  it  again  upon  the 
mixen.(a)  12.  To  try  experiments,  during  a  series  of  years, 
upon  the  same  soils  and  crops,  with  equal  quantities  of  dung, 
laid  on  fresh,  and  afterwards  rotted ;  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
results  of  their  application  to  the  land.  The  whole  quantity 
to  be  first  weighed,  or  measured,  and  then  divided. 

The  fermentation  of  farm-yard  manure  is,  in  fact,  a  subject 
of  far  greater  importance  than  is  generally  imagined,  for  on 
a  due  estimation  of  its  value  mainly  depends  the  individual 
success,  as  well  as  the  national  prosperity,  of  our  agriculture. 
The  experiments  to  which  we  point  cannot  therefore  fail  to 
come  home  to  the  interests  of  every  man ;  they  may  be  made 
without  expense,  and  without  any  other  trouble  tiian  the  mere 
exercise  of  common  observation  and  intelligence.  Leaving, 
however,  aside  the  discussion  concerning  the  disputed  worth 
of  fresh  or  fermented — of  long  or  short  dung — let  the  farmer 
sedulously  bend  his  attention  to  the  accumulation  of  the  utmost 
quantity  that  it  may  be  in  his  power  to  procure.  The  manner 
and  the  time  of  using  it,  in  either  state,  must,  however,  be 
governed  by  circumstances  which  may  not  always  be  within 
his  control;  and  every  judicious  husbandman  will  rather 
accommodate  himself  to  the  exigency  of  the  case,  than  adhere 
strictly  to  his  own  notions  of  what  he  conceives  to  be  the  best 
practice.  In  fine,  whether  favouring  the  one  or  the  other  side 
of  the  question,  let  him  collect  all  he  can ;  apply  it  carefully 
to  his  crops;  and  then,  trusting  to  events — *let  the  land  and 
the  muck  settle  it.'' 

(a)  If  it  be  not  convenient  to  have  stables  with  tiffht  floors  and  a  gutter, 
straw  and  charcoal,  if  kept  in  a  cellar  underneath,  will  be  valuable  for  catch- 
ing urine  and  retaining  its  volatile  portions. 


(JO  A  rilACTICAL  TREATISE 


CHAPTER  III. 

PUTRESCENT     MANURES    CONTINUED. — NIGHT-SOIL — LIQUID 
MANURE. 

Night-soil  is  not  alone  distinguished  from  the  ocjure  of  all 
animals  by  the  extreme  fetidness  of  its  smell,  but  is  also  known 
to  be  of  a  stronger  or  hotter  kind,  and  probably  differs  in  its 
own  qualities  in  proportion  to  the  sort  of  provision  from  which 
it  is  obtained,  as  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  ex- 
crement arising  out  of  animal  food  is  of  a  more  active  nature 
than  that  which  is  the  produce  of  a  vegetable  diet.  In  all 
those  places  where  the  real  value  of  this  feculent  matter  is 
duly  appreciated,  and  its  preparation  well  understood,  the 
aversion  which  its  use  excites  is  surmounted,  and  it  is  there 
preferred  to  all  other  manure.  It  has  indeed  been  assumed 
that  the  excrements  of  a  man,  when  used  for  this  purpose,  can 
be  made  to  produce  a  sufficiency  of  corn  and  roots  for  his  sup- 
port; but,  although  that  assertion  has  been  exaggerated,  yet 
were  all  the  nourishment  which  could  be  extracted  from  this 
species  of  ordure  made  available,  there  can  be  but  little  reason 
to  doubt  that  it  would  add  largely  to  the  production  of  the 
land ;  for  it  has  been  proved,  by  numerous  experiments,  to 
rank  far  before  the  dung  of  any  animal.  In  this  country, 
however,  it  is  very  commonly  allowed  to  become  decomposed 
through  want  of  care,  and  vast  quantities  are  carried  off  by 
rivers  from  the  large  towns,  and  lost  in  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean — an  inattention  which  has  partly  arisen  from  the  disgust 
occasioned  by  its  odour,  and  partly  through  a  prejudice  to 
which  that  disgust  has  given  rise. 

This  repugnance  proceeds  from  an  idea  that  this  manure 
communicates  an  unpleasant  flavour  to  plants  grown  in  the 
land  upon  which  it  has  been  used ;  and  it  has  been  also  thought 
to  have  a  bad  effect  upon  the  soil.  Both  of  these  objections 
are  however  groundless  when  due  care  is  applied  to  its  ma- 
nagement. Instances  are  indeed  said  to  have  occurred,  in 
which  horses  have  refused  the  hay  made  from  grass  which 
had  been  manured  with  night-soil;  but,  if  credit  is  to  be 
attached  to  the  assertion,  it  must  have  been  produced  by  its 
having  been  spread  in  a  fresh  state,  and  upon  grass  of  very 
forward  growth.     In  proof  of  this  is  an  instance,  mentioned  in 


ON  MANURES.  03 

the  Norfolk  Report,  of  a  field  newly  laid  down  to  grass,  every 
part  of  which  proved  very  poor,  except  two  acres  on  which 
four  wagon-loads  of  night-soil  were  spread  directly,  without 
being  mixed  with  any  other  manure.  The  field  was  fed  ofif, 
and  the  effect  of  the  night-soil  is  said  to  have  been  so  great, 
that,  '  while  the  rest  of  the  field  never  seemed  more  than  half 
filled  with  useful  plants,  this  part  thickened  surprisingly,  and 
grew  most  luxuriantly ;  so  much  so,  that  the  cattle,  neglecting 
the  rest  of  the  field,  were  perpetually  feeding  there,  until  by 
autumn  it  was  pared  down,  like  a  fine  green  lawn  by  the  side 
of  a  dusky,  rough,  ragged  pasture.*  In  other  accounts  it  is 
indeed  reported  as  'the  most  capital  manure,  of  all  other 
sorts,  for  pasture,  two  wagon-loads  securing  a  carpet  of  herb- 
age ;'f  and  no  bad  effect  is  perceptible  on  vegetables,  though 
kitchen-gardeners  use  it  with  profusion.  It  has  been  also 
asserted  that  nice  judges  of  vegetables  can  distinguish  a  very 
unfavourable  difference  between  the  flavour  of  those  grown  in 
the  vicinity  of  large  towns  or  in  the  open  country,  and  this 
they  attribute  partly  to  the  use  of  night-soil ;  but  it  certainly 
communicates  no  unpleasant  smell  to  the  plants,  nor  even, 
after  a  very  few  days,  to  the  ground  on  which  it  has  been  laid, 
for  it  is  soon  decomposed,  and  the  effect  complained  of  is 
doubtless  more  owing  to  the  rapidity  of  the  growth  when 
forced  by  an  excess  of  any  stimulating  manure,  which  renders 
them  insipid;  and  were  market-gardeners  more  sparing  of  the 
use  of  all  dung,  or  were  they  to  correct  it  into  a  compost  by  a 
judicious  mixture  of  lime  and  earth,  or  a  small  portion  of 

*The  same  Survey  also  mentions  the  great  improvement  of  a  piece  of 
sterile  pasture  by  the  application  of  night-soil  mixed  up  with  pond-mud,  in 
the  proportion  of  7  wagion-loads  of  the  former  to  143  one-horse  cart-loads 
of  the  latter.  The  soil  was  first  laid  upon  the  mud,  the  men  then  cut  a 
trench  through  the  heap,  and  throwing  a  small  parcel  into  it,  they  worked 
it  all  to  pieces.  The  compost  was  afterwards  spread  over  the  field  at  the 
total  expense  of  121. ;  but  at  the  present  price  of  labour  it  would  probably 
amount  to  half  as  much  more. 

t  One  wagon-load,  containing  90  bushels  of  night-soil,  costs  in  London 
15s.,  to  which  is  to  be  added  the  charge  of  carriage  to  the  farms,  to  which  it 
is  mostly  conveyed  by  the  Thames,  or  by  canals.  Much  of  it  is  used  in 
Essex,  mixed  with  five  times  the  quantity  of  fresh  earth,  and  sometimes 
together  with  an  equal  quantity  of  the  muck  and  chalk,  in  which  proportion 
it  is  commonly  used,  at  the  rate  of  one  wagon-load  of  night-soil ;  and  the 
whole  charge,  including  that  of  spreading,  is  calculated  to  be  from  21.  13s.  to 
31.  3s.  per  acre.  The  common  price  of  stable-dung  in  London  is  2s.  to  2g.  6d. 
per  hay-cart  load,  containing  between  70  and  bO  cubical  feet:  that  of  street- 
slop,  called  coW  manure,  is  delivered  by  barges  to  the  distance  of  about  fifteen 
miles,  by  the  canals,  or  within  reach  of  one  tide  by  the  river,  at  about  3s. 
per  ton. 


G4  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

slaked   lime,   the   evil   complained   of  would,    no  doubt,   be 
removed,* 

All  unpleasantness  of  odour  may  indeed  be  prevented  by  the 
mere  use  of  ashes;  and  were  those  thrown  upon  the  night-soil, 
or  into  privies  which  liave  no  communication  with  sewers,  the 
ashes  made  in  every  dwelling-house  would  so  completely 
absorb  the  fluid,  that  a  solid  heap  of  manure  would  be  pro- 
duced, that  might  afterwards  be  removed  without  difficulty  or 
offensiveness.  This,  besides  being  common  in  many  parts  of 
the  continent,  is  the  regular  practice  throughout  Hull  ;t  and 
were  it  more  generally  followed  in  other  towns,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  would  be  attended  with  very  beneficial  effects 
to  the  agriculture  of  their  neighbourhood.  It  is  also  collected 
in  considerable  quantities  in  Ijondon;  and  there  was,  a  few 
years  ago,  a  large  manufactory  for  its  preparation,  in  which  it 
was  dried  and  exposed  to  the  sun  by  spreading  it  upon  flag- 
stones gently  inclined,  to  allow  it  to  drain,  after  which  it  was 
broken  into  pieces,  and  removed  under  cover,  where  it  was 
partially  mixed  with  lime  and  completely  reduced  to  powder. 
In  this  state  it  was  packed  into  barrels,  and  exported  even  to 
our  colonies,  where  it  was  used  as  a  top-dressing,  but  was 
chiefly  employed  by  market-gardeners,  who  used  to  sow  it  in 
drills  along  with  their  seeds,  and,  judging  by  the  price  at 
which  they  bought  it,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  found 
its  use  to  be  singularly  advantageous;  but  the  process  has 
been  abandoned,  for,  having  been  carried  on  in  the  heart  of 
th#  town,  it  occasioned  complaints  of  its  offensiveness.  This, 
from  the  inconvenience  attending  its  conveyance,  unless  by 
canals,  has  greatly  prevented  its  use:  considerable  difficulty 
has  also  been  found  in  reconciling  farm-servants  to  working  at 
the  preparation  of  this  manure ;  but  that  objection  can  be 
easily  overcome  by'a  slight  gratuity,  and,  considering  its  great 
value  as  a  dressing,  it  ought  not  to  be  neglected.     It  is  said 


♦Russell's  Treatise  on  Practical  and  Chemical  Agriculture,  p.  205— Der- 
bysh.  Rep.  vol.  ii.  p.  454.  It  is  also  contradicted  by  Count  Gyllenborjr,  in 
his  very  erudite  treatise  on  Chemical  Agriculture,  in  which  he  mentions  an 
instance  of  his  having  regularly  watered  a  vine  with  putrid  urine,  but  neither 
the  grapes  nor  the  wine  contracted  any  bad  taste. — Pilkington's  Translation, 
p.  78.  Slaked  lirm  is,  for  this  purpose,  preferable  to  that  which  is  hot;  for 
the  latter,  when  combined  with  animal  matter,  forms  u  manure  which  is 
not  soluble  in  water. 

t  See  a  letter  on  the  subject,  detailing  the  practice,  together  with  remarks 
on  its  extension,  in  the  Farmer's  Macazine,  vol.  x.-p.  497.  Also  the  General 
Report  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  525 ;  and  Communications  to  the  Board  of  Ag- 
riculture, vol.  i.  p.  317. 


ON  MANURES.  65 

that  one  load  in  its  dry  state,  will  be,  in  all  cases,  quite  suf- 
ficient for  three  acres  of  drilled  wheat.* 

Its  operation  has  been  found  quicker  and  more  powerful 
than  farm-yard  dung ;  but  not  so  lasting.  Farmers  who  have 
used  both  on  adjoining  land  have  observed  that  the  crops  are 
always  more  exuberant  in  the  first  year  where  the  night-soil 
has  been  laid,  but  that  little  or  no  difference  has  been  after- 
wards perceptible,  (a)  Its  effects,  when  spread  alone  upon 
field-crops,  and  directly  ploughed  in  with  a  shallow  furrow, 
are  indeed  so  violent,  that  grain  manured  with  it  has  been 
known  to  run  entirely  to  straw;  yet  it  has  been  used  in  that 
state  as  a  dressing  for  turnips,  and  also  for  spring-wheat, 
upon  the  fallow,  upon  thin  and  chalky  soils,  upon  which  the 
largest  crop  and  the  finest  grain  was  grown  upon  a  very  ex- 
tensive farm,  upon  which  it  was  laid  to  the  extent  of  three 
wagon-loads  per  acre,  though  it  probably  was  partly  mixed 
up  with  the  sweepings  of  streets.  It  should,  however,  be  in- 
corporated with  other  substances ;  and  as  it  is  very  difficult  to 
procure  it  in  any  other  than  a  nearly  liquid  state,  it  is  proper 
that  every  means  should  be  taken  to  secure  it.  A  mixen 
should  therefore  be  made,  consisting  of  firesh  loam,  decayed 
tanners'  bark,  peat,  or  any  other  like  substance,  to  the  depth  of 
about  two  feet,  to  which  the  night-soil  must  be  drawn,  and  then 
carefully  thrown  over  it  with  scoops  to  a  moderate  thickness; 
after  which  another  layer  should  be  added  of  loam,  or  a  com- 
post of  the  same  substances,  and  in  the  same  manner,  though 
not  quite  so  deep  as  before  ;  then  another  of  night-soil,  until 
the  whole  has  attained  the  proper  height,  when  it  is  to  be 
covered  with  the  same  materials,  to  which  if  a  small  quantity 
of  quicklime  be  joined,  or  mixed  with  the  layers,  it  will  assist 
the  decomposition  of  the  heap,  and  its  nauseous  effluvia  will 
be  destroyed.  To  every  load  of  night-soil,  about  four  or  five 
times  the  same  quantity  of  earth  should  be  added,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  to  the  degree  of  excitement  in- 
tended to  be  applied  to  the  land.  It  should  then  be  regularly 
turned  and  thoroughly  mixed,  and   may  be  used   either  for 

*The  following  has  been  recommended  as  the  best  mode  of  pulverizing 
night  soil : — '  Spread  it  on  a  piece  of  grass ;  let  it  be  well  harrowed  on  a 
bright  day  ;  then  put  it  under  cover,  and  add  a  chaldron  of  lime  to  4  loads 
of  muck  in  that  state,  and  it  will  become  dry.' — Rigby's  Framingham,  p.  102. 

(a)  [Poudrette,  prepared  from  night-soil,  is  fast  superseding  the  latter,  from 
its  portability.  It  is  applied  at  the  rate  of  about  ten  bushels  to  the  acre.  On 
Indian  corji  it  has  been  used  with  great  effect.] 


06  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

wheat  or  barley,  in  the  proportion  of  one  wagon-load  of  night- 
soil,  containing  as  much  as  four  horses  can  tiiirly  draw,  to  the 
acre;  but  it  should  be  used  more  in  the  manner  of  a  top-dress- 
ing tlian  buried  in  the  soil.  It  has  been  laid  on  in  the  large 
proportion  of  40  double  cart-loads,  and  has  alterwards  been 
known  to  produce  5^  quarters  per  acre  of  spring-wheat, 
besides  an  uncommonly  luxuriant  crop  of  rye-grass  and  clover 
in  the  ensuing  summer.*  It  is  sometimes,  also,  mixed  with 
the  yard-dung  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  fermentation :  this, 
however,  is  not  advisable,  for  it  produces  its  greatest  effect 
in  an  unfermented  state,  and  when  thus  mixed,  its  power  is 
greatly  lessened. 

It  is  likewise  converted  into  powder  for  the  purpose  of  ma- 
nure in  Paris,  and  is  also  used  throughout  many  parts  of  the 
Continent,  but  chiefly  in  the  Netherlands,  where,  however,  it 
is  more  commonly  employed  exclusively  in  a  liquid  state ;  of 
the  preparation  of  which  we  extract  the  following  account 
from  the  intelligent  Report  by  Mr.  Radcliff  of  the  Agriculture 
of  Eastern  and  Western  Flanders. 

Liquid  Manure. — 'This  consists  of  the  urine  of  cattle,  in 
which  rape-cake  has  been  dissolved,  and  in  which  the  night- 
soil  from  the  privies  of  the  adjoining  towns  and  villages  has 
also  been  blended.  This  is  gradually  collected  in  subterra- 
neous vaults  of  brick- work,  at  the  verge  of  the  farm  next  to  the 
main  road.  Those  receptacles  are  generally  40  feet  long  by 
14  feet  wide,  and  7  or  8  feet  deep,  and  in  some  cases  are 
contrived  with  the  crown  of  the  arch  so  much  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  as  to  admit  the  plough  to  work  over  it. 
An  aperture  is  left  in  the  side,  through  which  the  manure  is 
received  from  the  cart  by  means  of  a  shoot  or  trough ;  and  at 
one  end  an  opening  is  left  to  bring  it  up  again  by  means  of  a 
temporary  pump,  which  delivers  it  into  carts  or  barrels. 
Another  cistern,  of  double  that  size,  is,  however,  for  the  most 
part,  formed  under  the  range  of  stables,  from  each  stall  of  which 
the  urine  is  conducted  to  a  common  grating,  through  which  it 
descends  into  the  vault,  from  whence  it  is  taken  up  by  the 
pump ;  but  in  the  best  regulated  there  is  a  partition  in  the  cis- 


*  Farmer's  Magazine,  vol.  xiv.  p.  161.  It  will  not  escape  observation  thai 
the  amount  of  this  manure  wnnld  have  been  better  stated  if  the  quantity  had 
been  accurately  ascertained  in  bushels  ;  but  that  is  a  trouble  which  few 
farniers  take,  and  information  can  only  be  given  in  the  same  manner  in 
which  it  is  obtained. 


ON  MANURES.  67 

tern,  with  a  valve  to  admit  the  contents  of  the  first  space  into 
the  second,  to  be  preserved  there  free  from  the  later  acquisi- 
tion, ag-e  adding-  considerably  to  its  efficacy.  Tlie  smallest  of 
tliem  will  hold  1000  barrels  of  38  g-allons  each,  and  in  that 
quantity  from  two  to  tour  thousand  rape-cakes,  of  2  lbs.  each, 
will  have  been  dissolved. 

'  This  species  of  manure  is  indeed  relied  on  beyond  any  other 
upon  all  the  light  soils  throughout  Flanders;  and  even  upon 
strong  lands,  originally  so  rich  as  to  preclude  the  necessity  of 
manure,  it  is  now  coming  into  great  esteem,  being  considered 
applicable  to  most  crops,  and  to  all  the  varieties  of  soil' 

The  crop  upon  which  it  is,  however,  chiefly  bestowed,  is 
Jiax,  in  the  following  manner  and  proportion.  'The  field, 
after  two  or  three  ploughings  and  harrowings,  is  backed  up  in 
the  centre,  and  ploughed  round  in  but  one  set,  so  as  to  leave 
it  without  any  furrow.  A  heavy  roller  is  then  drawn  across 
tlie  ploughing  by  three  horses,  the  manure  is  spread  equally 
over  the  entire  surface,  and,  when  well  harrowed  in  by  eight 
or  nine  strokes  of  the  harrow,  the  seed  is  sown,  which  is  also 
harrowed  in  by  a  light  harrow,  with  wooden  pins  of  less  than 
three  inches,  and  the  surface,  to  conclude  the  operation,  is 
again  carefully  rolled,  so  that  nothing  can  exceed  the  smooth- 
ness and  cultivated  appearance  of  fields  thus  accurately  pre- 
pared.' 

The  manner  in  which  the  manure  is  applied  is  in  one  or  the 
other  of  the  following  modes,  according  to  the  distance. 
*  Wher«  the  cart  plies,  the  manure  is  carried  in  a  great  sheet, 
closed  at  the  corners  by  running  strings,  and  secured  to  the 
four  uprights  of  the  cart:  two  men,  standing  one  on  each  side, 
scatter  it  with  hollow  shovels  upon  the  ground.  Or,  where 
barrels  are  made  use  of,  each  is  carried  by  two  men  with  poles, 
and  set  down  at  equal  distances  across  the  field,  in  the  line  of 
the  rolling.  There  are  two  sets  of  vessels,  which  enable  the 
men  who  deposit  the  loaded  ones  to  bring  back  others  empty. 
One  man  to  each  vessel,  with  a  scoop,  or  rather  a  kind  of 
bowl,  with  a  long  handle,  spreads  the  manure  so  as  to  cover  a 
certain  space;  and  thus,  by  preserving  the  intervals  correctly, 
they  can  precisely  guage  the  quantity  for  giving  effect  to  any 
extent  of  surface.'  It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  this 
mode  of  application  is  somewhat  clumsy,  and  that  it  might  be 
improved.  For  the  flax  crop  they  are  profuse,  for  they  usually 
G 


68  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

allow  at  the  rate  of  2480  gallons,  beer  measure,  to  the  English 
acre.* 

It  thus  appears  that  the  dissolution  of  the  oil-cake  and  z 
sufficient  time  for  the  thorough  putrefaction  of  the  contents  of 
the  cistern  is  the  only  preparation  of  this  manure ;  and  it  is 
stated  that  21  acres,  upon  a  farm  of  200,  are  most  luxuriantly 
manured  for  crops  of  flax  and  rape  with  the  urine — exclusive 
of  the  dung — of  forty-four  head  of  cattle.f  It  must,  however, 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  although  the  Flemings  have  too  just 
a  sense  of  the  value  of  money  to  lay  it  out  without  the  prospect 
of  a  profitable  return,  yet  the  construction  of  such  a  building 
as  that  described  is  calculated  at  about  120/. :  in  this  country 
it  would  probably  cost  considerably  more;  and,  as  it  cannot  be 
removed,  it  would  not  suit  the  means  of  every  farmer  to  be  at 
the  expense,  unless  he  can  obtain  the  assistance  of  his  land- 
lord. 

In  another  account,  drawn  up  in  consequence  of  an  investi- 
gation upon  a  very  extensive  Flemish  farm,  by  persons  ap- 
pointed to  examine  the  plan,  (which  had  been  objected  to  by 
several  intelligent  practical  men,)  it  was  declared,  'that  owing 
to  the  judicious  concavity  of  the  farm-yard,  there  was  as  much 
moisture  as  was  necessary  to  ferment  the  straw ;  and  it  is  now 
ascertained  that  liquid  manure  is  the  most  efficacious  of  any, 
and  produces  a  third  more  efi^ect  than  what  is  spread  upon  the 
surface.'  Hence,  after  the  dung  is  fermented,  they  dilute  it 
in  water,  and  the  liquid  alone  is  carried  to  the  field,  and  scat- 
tered over  it.  The  earth  immediately  imbibes  the  liquid, 
which  soon  reaches  the  roots  of  the  plants,  and  causes  a  rapid 
vegetation  ;  whereas  it  is  a  long  time  before  dung,  in  a  solid 
state,  fertilizes  the  soil.     The  straw  that  remains,  after  the 

♦The  average  product  of  crops  upon  a  sandy  loam,  and  the  quantity  of 
manure  for  each  per  English  acre,  when  applied  to  the  land,  is  tlms  stated  .— 

Wheat,  22;^  bushels    .         .         .         Either  dung  or  compost,  10^  tons. 

Rye,  28|  do.         ....        Farm-yard  manure,  do. 

Oats,  51  5-6  do.  .         .         .         Do.  do. 

Fla.x,   6i  do.   of  seed  and  stem',  f  666  cakes  of  rape,  dissolved  in  2i80 
worth  17/.  16s.  9(/.  .         .     |      gallons  of  urine. 

Rape-seed,  32  2-5  do.  .         .         580  do.  dissolved  in  3200  gall's,  of  do. 

ri4  cart-loads  of  liquid  manure  and 

Beans,  28|^  do       .         .         .         .     <      the  same  quantity  of  stable-dung, 
(.     equal  together  to  21  tons. 

Potatoes,  8  5-6  tons  ■         .         Do.     do.     do. 

— Radcliff 's  Report  of  the  Agriculture  of  Eastern  and  Western  Flanders, 
pp.  90,  91. 

i  .Sir  John  Sinclair,  however,  says,  in  his  'Hints  on  the  Agricultural 
State  of  the  Netherlands,'  that  in  another  farm  it  required  the  urine  of  68 
cattle,  of  various  ages,  and  32  horses,  to  manure  40  acres. 


OJN    MANURES.  gg 

dung"  is  thus  washed,  is  applied  as  manure  for  potatoes.  This 
mode  has  been,  indeed,  extensively  carried  on  in  other  parts 
of  the  Continent,  and  its  effects  are  considered  as  equally- 
beneficial.  There,  by  some  farmers,  water  is  regularly  thrown 
over  the  dung-hills,  the  oozings  from  which  are  allowed  to 
drain  into  pits  constructed  for  the  purpose,  and  permitted  to 
ferment  before  they  are  laid  upon  the  land ;  or,  by  others,  th6 
whole  of  the  dung  and  stall-litter  is  immersed  in  water,  which, 
after  a  certain  time,  is  pumped  up  from  the  pits,  and  applied 
in  a  liquid  form ;  in  which  manner  it  is  contended  that  this 
manure  is  not  only  more  powerful  in  itself,  but  the  quantity  is 
thus  doubled,  for  the  solid  contents  of  the  dunghill  remain  the 
same.  Experiments  on  an  extensive  scale  have  incontestibly 
proved  the  efficacy  of  liquid  manures  upon  sandy  or  other  light 
soils,  to  which  they  impart  consistency,  and  dispose  them  to 
retain  moisture;  nor  can  there  be  mucli  doubt  that  in  many 
cases  the  product  of  a  single  crop  may  be  thus  more  than 
doubled,  by  its  immediate  contact  with  the  plants. 

On  heavy  land,  we  however  coincide  with  the  opinion  of 
that  eminent  agriculturist  the  Baron  de  Thaer,  from  whom 
this  account  is  taken,  that  it  can  never  replace  the  solid  con- 
tents of  the  dunn'-hill;  and,  although  not  contestino;'  the 
advantages  of  which  it  may  be  susceptible  when  applied  to 
those  soils  and  crops  to  whicli  it  is  peculiarly  applicable,  we 
yet  doubt  the  extraordinary  degree  of  power  ascribed  to  it. 
Before  this  mode  of  preparing  manure  be  generally  adopted,  it 
should  also  be  well  ascertained  whether  the  pains  and  expense 
attendant  upon  it  do  not  overbalance  those  of  our  own  common 
management;  for  although  it  is  possible  that,  in  the  former 
way,  a  more  complete  decomposition  of  the  materials  may  be 
secured,  and  that  thus  new  combinations  of  nutritive  matter 
may  be  formed,  of  the  precise  effects  of  which  we  are  ignorant, 
yet,  in  our  usual  method  of  preparation,  wlien  properly  con- 
ducted, nothing  should  be  lost:  tlie  liquid  drained  from  the 
dung  should  be  collected  for  further  use:  and  it  is  only  upon 
such  a  calculation  of  the  charges,  as  well  as  experience  of  the 
eftects  of  the  manure,  that  a  fair  conclusion  can  be  drawn 
regarding  its  real  value. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  world  in  which  the  prepa- 
ration and  the  practical  application  of  vegetable  and  animal 
manure  is  so  well  understood  as  in  China;  but  owing  to  its 
overflowing  population,  almost  the  whole  of  the  labour  is  per- 
formed by  man,  by  which  the  number  of  working  animals  is  so 


70  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

much  reduced,  that  nig-ht-soil  forms  the  principal  dependence 
of  the  farmer.  It  is  extensively  employed  in  a  dried  state,  and 
is  sold,  as  an  article  of  commerce,  throughout  the  empire,  in 
the  fbrm-of  cakes,  mixed  up  with  one-tiiird  of  their  weight  of 
marl.  It  is,  however,  in  its  liquid  state,  as  urine,  that  it  is 
chiefly  used,  in  combination  with  other  substances,  tiie  account 
of  which,  as  furnished  by  a  gentleman  who'  was  long  resident 
in  tlie  country,  is  too  curious  to  be  omitted. 

Into  a  cask  or  jar  is  put  a  collection  of  putrid  animal  sub- 
stances, consisting  of  flesh,  fish,  blood,  &.C.,  to  which  is  added 
a  certain  quantity  of  urine,  but  tlie  vessel  is  not  completely 
filled.  A  mandarin,  or  officer  of  government,  then  attends, 
who,  upon  the  vessel  being  closed,  affixes  his  seal,  and  in  which 
state  it  must  remain  for  six  months  at  least.  When  tliis,  or  a 
longer  period,  has  elapsed,  the  mandarin  removes  his  seal,  and 
grants  a  certificate  as  to  the  quality  of  the  preparation,  wJiich 
is  shown  by  the  proprietor,  who  cries  it  through  tlie  streets  as 
a  manure  for  gardens,  and  it  is  sold  in  quantities  as  small  as 
an  English  pint.  Before  using,  it  is  always  diluted  with  four 
or  five  times  its  bulk  of  water,  and  it  is  extensively  used  for 
garden-crops,  but  universally  in  drills.  The  writer  adds  that 
he  was  informed  by  several  intelligent  Chinese,  that  human 
urine,  thus  prepared,  forms  a  fourth  part  of  all  the  manure 
employed  in  China,  and  wiiich  is  never  used  until  it  lias 
reached  a  high  state  of  putridity. 

That  an  article  considered  of  so  much  importance  in  that 
country  should  in  this,  where  agriculture  has  arrived  at  such 
great  perfection,  be  so  much  neglected,  is  not  easy  to  be 
accounted  for.  The  quantity  of  urine  voided  daily  by  an  indi- 
vidual of  moderate  size  lias  been  shown,  by  a  series  of  experi- 
ments, to  amount  to  about  half  a  gallon,  which,  if  due  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  the  collection  of  it,  would,  according  to  the 
Flemisli  mode  of  its  application,  be  a  siilhcient  manure  for 
half  a  rood  of  ground.  Urine,  when  sufficiently  diluted  with 
water,  forms  a  food  highly  conducive  to  the  growth  of  plants; 
it  is,  indeed,  thought  to  contain  the  essential  elements  of 
vegetables  in  a  state  of  solution ;  but  its  stale  of  putrefaction 
requires  great  attention.  Tims,  it  may  be  observed  that,  in  the 
hot  months  of  summer,  the  pasture  where  the  urine  of  catth 
falls  becomes  marked  by  a  rich  dark  green  when  rain  falls  soof 
after ;  but  if  the  dry  weather  continues,  the  developement  of 
the  ammoniacal  salts,  arising  from  the  putrefaction  of  the 
urine,  tlien  occasions  it  to  burn  up  the  grass ;  yet,  on  tlie  con- 


ON  MANURES. 


71 


trary,  an  excess  of  moisture  deprives  it  entirely  of  effect. 
Thus,  the  whole  of  the  urine  from  a  dwelling-house  having 
been  daily  thrown  on  a  piece  of  pasture  during  three  months 
of  the  winter,  it  was  found  in  the  following  summer  to  differ 
but  little  from  the  state  of  the  rest  of  the  field — it  having 
suffered  too  much  dilution  from  the  rain  to  be  capable  of  putre- 
faction. But,  in  the  following  June,  a  week's  urine  being  put 
into  ajar,  and  covered  with  a  slate,  where  it  remained  until 
it  had  completely  undergone  that  stage,  was  then  mixed  with 
four  times  its  amount  of  water,  and  when  sprinkled  at  pro- 
per times  on  the  same  quantity  of  pasture,  it  soon  occasioned 
a  luxuriant  vegetation.  It  produces  similar  effects  on  green 
vegetable  crops — nourishmg  them  when  applied  in  a  diluted 
state,  but  scorching  them  and  destroying  their  tender  herbage 
so  effectually  when  unmixed,  as  to  impede  their  growth. 
There  is  indeed  but  little  doubt  that  nutritious  manure  of  any 
kind  may  be  carried  to  an  excess  which  becomes  prejudicial 
to  vegetation,  particularly  in  its  early  stages.  Naismith 
instances  the  steeping  of  three  peas  for  tw«nty-four  hours  in 
a  teacupful  of  strong  dung-juice,  and  three  in  plain  water: 
each  three  were  planted  half  an  inch  deep  in  separate  flower- 
pots filled  with  garden  mould,  and  the  liquid  in  wl^ch  they 
had  been  steeped  poured  into  the  pots  over  them.  Those 
which  had  been  steeped  in  plain  water  appeared  above  ground 
thirty  hours  before  the  others.  Both  advanced,  but  those  in 
the  dung-juice  had  the  most  weakly  appearance.  When  the 
plants  were  about  four  inches  high,  the  lower  leaves  of  those 
fed  by  the  dung-juice  fell  off;  and  in  about  four  weeks  after, 
the  plants  died,  though  they  were  daily  watered,  while  those 
to  which  the  water  only  had  been  administered  continued 
healthy.  The  haulm  of  a  potatoe,  too,  the  growth  of  which 
was  pretty  well  advanced,  fell  off  soon  after  it  had  been  well 
wetted  with  urine  in  an  advanced  stage  of  putrefaction,  and 
even  the  root  itself  was  found  reduced  to  a  pulp.  It  is,  in 
fact,  of  a  scorching  quality,  and  its  application  to  growing 
crops  is  not  advisable  during  hot  weather,  unless  mixed  with 
a  large  proportion  of  simple  water:  of  course  it  will  not  ope- 
rate in  the  like  manner  upon  fiillow  land,  and  it  may  be 
applied  whenever  the  ground  is  in  a  fit. state  to  absorb  it 
readily,  but  much  of  its  effect  may  be  lost  if  it  be  not  laid  on 
at  the  time  of  sowing. 

There  is  probably  no  species  of  manure  so  generally  ne- 
glected, and  yet  so  deserving  of  attention;  for  although  the 


72  A  PRACTICAL  TREA'l'lSE 

largest  portion  of  what  is  produced  in  most  farm-yards  is  there 
necessarily  absorbed  by  the  litter,  and  consequently  profitably 
applied,  yet  large  quantities  are  constantly  allowed  to  run 
to  waste.  We  have  no  moans  of  ascertaining  the  amount 
of  urine  that  may  be  voided  by  different  animals  in  the  course 
of  a  day,  for  the  diversity  of  their  size  and  of  the  kind  of  food 
on  which  they  arc  supported  would  deprive  such  a  calculation, 
upon  a  broad  scale,  of  any  pretension  to  accuracy.  It  has, 
however,  been  supposed  that,  if  fed  upon  common  white  turnips, 
they  yield  about  two-thirds  of  the  weight — or  about  a  gallon 
for  every  12  lbs.* — besides  the  water  which  they  drink;  and 
we  have  seen  that  the  cow  which  we  have  mentioned  pro- 
duced, when  fed  on  two-thirds  of  brewers'  grains,  only  45  lbs. 
of  dung  out  of  126  lbs.  of  food,  the  greater  portion  of  which 
was  accordingly  voided  in  urine.  It  must  aloo  be  recollected 
that  the  cattle  upon  the  farm  to  which  we  have  alluded,  in 
Flanders,  consisted  of  only  forty-four  head,  of  which  eiglit  were 
horses,  fed  during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter  upon  dry 
food,  yet  they  not  only  converted  the  entire  produce  of  the 
straw  and  stable-dung  into  well-prepared  compost  of  the  usual 
description,  which  could  not  iiave  been  effected  without  a  large 
supply  of  urine;  but  the  savings  from  the  stalls  also  furnished 
an  additi?5nal  quantity  of  liquid  manure  of  the  richest  kind, 
equal  to  the  culture  of  exhausting  crops  upon  21  acres  of 
ground.  It  has  been  calculated  too,  in  Scotland,  that  the  urine 
of  six  cows  or  horses  will  enrich  a  quantity  of  earth  sufficient 
to  top-dress  an  English  acre  of  grass-land  ;f  but  considering 
the  trouble  and  the  prejudice  attending  it  in  this  country,  it  is 
probable  that  the  best  way  of  preparing  it  for  use  is  that 
recommended  by  a  considerable  farmer  in  Peebles-shire,  who 
applies  it  in  the  following  manner.  He  has  a  pit,  about  12 
yards  square  and  4  feet  deep,  which  he  fills  with  rich  earth, 
or  any  such  matters  that  may  be  at  hand,  and  the  urine  of  the 
cattle  which  he  feeds  is  conveyed  to  the  pit  by  a  sewer,  and 
spread  equally  over  it.  After  this  compost  has  received  the" 
greatest  portion  of  the  urine,  which  is  about  the  latter  end  of 
April,  when  it  is  ready  for  the  spring  sowing,  it  is  carefully 

*The  weight  of  pure  distilled  water  is  8  lbs.  per  gallon  :  that  of  urine  is 
heavier,  in  proportion  to  its  composition. 

t<Jeneral  Report  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  526.  We  cannot,  however,  avoid 
noticing  the  loose  manner  in  which  this  calculation  is  supported ;  for  the 
quantity  of  urine  produced  by  six  cows,  or  by  the  same  number  of  liorses, 
would  be  materially  different. 


ON  MANURES.  73 

turned  over,  when  it  shows  symptoms  of  complete  saturation ; 
and  in  this  way  a  large  quantity  of  rich  manure  is  raised,  equal 
to  about  280  cart-loads,  40  of  which,  per  Scotch  acre,  when 
applied  to  the  ground,  he  finds  equal,  if  not  superior,  in  its 
effects  to  his  best  dung.  The  expense  of  filling  the  pit  only 
amounts  to  6^. 

Throughout  a  great  part  of  the  rich  low-lands  in  Tuscany, 
the  manure  is  chiefly  procured  from  night-soil,  and  preserved 
in  large  cisterns,  in  wliich  it  is  steeped  for  several  months  in 
about  three  times  its  quantity  of  water;  though  some  farmers 
content  themselves  with  a  large  ditch,  which  is  applied  to  the 
same  purpose  as  the  cistern.  Into  this  every  kind  of  putres- 
cent matter  is  also  thrown,  and  the  putrid  water  thus  pro- 
duced is  found  to  possess  qualities  of  a  very  fertilizing  nature. 
It  is  however  principally  used  for  garden-ground,  which  is 
thus  watered  every  fortnight ;  and  the  plants,  but  more  par- 
ticularly onions,  thus  acquire  a  prodigious  size,  without  being 
in  the  least  affected  by  any  bad  flavour  arising  from  the  ma- 
nure. Neither  is  its  smell,  though  most  offensive  for  a  day  or 
two  after  it  has  been  laid  upon  the  land,  ever  known  to 
occasion  any  prejudicial  effect  to  the  health  of  the  peasantry. 

In  a  paper  addressed  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture  by  Baron 
Schulen burgh,  one  of  its  honorary  members,  he  states  that  in 
Sweden  the  urine  is  collected  from  the  farm-offices,  and 
pumped  over  dung  and  other  substances  while  in  a  state  of 
compost.  The  contents  of  the  privies  are  likewise  regularly 
collected  by  scavengers  in  all  the  great  towns,  and  carried,  in 
many  instances,  to  the  distance  of  forty  miles  from  Stockholm. 
It  is  then  diluted  with  water,  and  laid  chiefly  upon  meadow-land ; 
but  it  is  also  applied  to  green  crops,  and  the  effects  on  the  soil, 
though  gradually  diminishing,  are  generally  considered  to  last 
during  four  years. 

In  Switzerland,  also,  the  mistwasser,  or  manure-water,  is 
sprinkled  over  the  surface  of  the  meadows  by  means  of  large 
casks  and  perforated  water-troughs,  immediately  after  each 
cutting  of  the  scythe,  which  makes  the  grass  to  spring  up 
again  with  great  vigour  in  a  very  short  time ;  and  it  is  well 
known  that  water,  rendered  fetid  by  the  solution  of  vegetable 
or  animal  substances,  is  essentially  serviceable  to  ffrass-land, 
as  may  be  commonly  perceived  by  its  effects  when  thrown 
upon  the  fields  in  the  neighbourhood  of  stagnant  ponds,  in 
which  flax  has  been  steeped.  It  is  indeed  highly  probable 
that  manures  which  are  intended  to  act  immediately  upon  the 
7 


74  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

soil  when  laid  on  its  surface,  will  have  more  effect  upon  grass- 
land when  applied  in  a  fluid  state  than  in  a  solid  form.  It 
cannot,  however,  be  denied  that  there  are  many  instances 
on  record  in  which  no  such  consequences  of  its  application 
have  been  remarked.  Marsliall  relates  an  experiment  con- 
ducted on  his  own  farm  with  considerable  care,  in  which  the 
common  drainage  of  the  farm-yard — of  course  including  rain- 
water— was  laid  upon  two  separate  fields  of  young  tares  and 
clover,  grown  u\K>n  a  sandy  loam,  at  the  rate  of  about  2500 
gallons  per  acre:  the  liquor  was  of  middling  strength,  very 
high  coloured  and  foul,  but  not  puddly,  and  it  was  carried  on 
in  wet  weather.  No  perceptible  advantage  was,  however, 
observable  on  either  those  or  the  ensuing  crops;  but  the 
weather  was  not  favourable.  Some  farmers,  indeed,  think 
these  washings  fi-om  the  farm-yards,  though  of  a  brown  colour, 
are  yet,  in  most  instances,  so  diluted  with  rain,  as  not  to  be 
worth  the  expense  of  carriage;*  though  other  accounts  of 
dung-water  say,  that  when  permitted  to  trickle  slowly  upon 
the  sward  of  meadow-ground,  it  renders  the  grass  soft  and 
luxuriant.  In  an  experiment  recorded  in  the  Bath  Papers, 
two  spots  of  meadow  were  equally  measured,  and  watered 
three  times  a  week  during  a  month  together  of  nearly  dry 
weather — the  one  with  dark-coloured  stagnant  water  from  a 
pond,  and  the  other  with  clear  river- water, — at  the  end  of 
which  time,  the  first  w^as  far  better  than  the  other.  The  crop 
upon  that  part  of  the  field  which  had  the  foul  water  was 
strong  and  succulent,  of  a  deep  healthy  green,  and  18  inches 
high;  while  the  other,  though  thick  and  high,  was  yellowish, 
weak,  and  faint.  On  being  made  into  hay,  and  separately 
kept,  the  former  yielded  nearly  double  the  quantity  and  of 

♦  It  is  stated  in  the  Rutland  Report  by  Mr.  Parkinson,  that  the  black 
water  thus  drained  away  from  manure,  has  been  tried  frequently  on  land, 
without  effect.  He  himself  tried  it,  by  having  a  dung-hill  made  with  a  grip 
cut  round  it,  wuh  a  descent  to  a  kind  of  reservoir  at  one  end  of  the  hill,  for 
this  water  to  drain  into,  and  then  had  it  thrown  back  on  that  end,  thinkin* 
thereby  to  preserve  the  loss  of  strength  in  the  manure.  But  he  found  that 
when  the  manure  which  came  from  that  side  of  the  dung-hill  was  laid  upon 
the  land,  it  was  weaker  than  the  other;  and  he  therefore  conclude*, — 'thit 
when  once  this  black  water  departs  from  the  dung,  that  it  is  like  lilood  let 
out  of  a  vein,  never  to  be  applied  again  for  the  like  purpose  it  was  designed 
for  in  its  original  state,'— t?urv.  of  Rutlandsh.,  p.  91. 

This,  however,  was  doubtless  occasioned  by  fresh  fermentation  being  oc- 
casioned by  the  dung  being  thus  continually  wetted,  and  thus  losing  its 
strenmh  by  repeated  exhalation  ;  but  though  it  may  be  properly  used  as  an 
argument  for  not  thus  applying  even  the  drainage  from  manure,  unless  it 
should  be  in  danger  of  becoming  tire-fanged,  yet  that  cannot  be  a  motive  for 
allowing  it  to  run  to  waste. 


ON  MANURES.  ^  75 

superior  quality  to  the  latter;  and  the  same  effect  was  visible 
in  the  following-  year,*  There  needs,  indeed,  no  argument 
to  prove  that  it  must  possess  some  fertilizing  properties,  but, 
except  it  be  rich  in  quality,  as  well  as  abundant  in  quantity, 
it  may  be  doubtful  whether  it  be  a  profitable  object  of  team 
labour. 

Some  extensive  experiments  upon  the  application  of  liquid 
manure — when  confined  tco  urine — have  also  been  recently 
made  in  Scotland  upon  various  crops,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  summary. 

A  cistern  was  constructed  in  the  dung-court  sufficiently 
large  to  contain  the  urine  of  from  thirty-five  to  forty,  and 
sometimes  of  seventy  cows.  The  supply  generally  amounted 
to  360  gallons  a  week.  When  intended  for  use,  it  was  mixed 
with  three  or  four  times  the  same  quantity  of  pond-wator,  and 
was  taken  out  to  the  fields  in  a  large  butt  containing  120 
gallons,  placed  on  wheels  like  a  cart,  to  the  hinder  part  of 
which  there  was  attached  a  wooden  box  perforated  with  holes, 
through  which  the  liquid  ran  out  upon  the  ground  in  tb.e  man- 
ner of  a  common  watermg-cart. 

No.  1. — When  applied,  in  October,  to  grass  which  had 
been  closely  cropped  by  sheep,|  the  aftergrowth  was  not  much 
increased,  but  the  sward  maintained  a  fresh  green  appearance 
during  the  winter,  and  it  could  be  cut  a  month  earlier  than 


*  In  pursuance  of  this  experiment,  the  pond  was  drained  and  lined  with 
clay,  to  prevent  the  water  from  oozing  through  it;  drains  were  then  laid 
into  it  from  the  stables,  and  into  it  were  also  emptied  the  contents  of 
the  privy  and  the  offal  from  the  kitchen,  by  which  means  the  water 
became  very  putrid.  A  water  cart  was  then  made,  with  a  trough  behind 
full  of  holes,  and  the  meadow-land  was  watered  with  twenty  carts-full, 
laid  on  either  in  the  beginning  of  May,  or  after  the  cutting  of  the  crop 
in  July  ;  the  effect  of  which  was  superior,  on  both  crop  and  rowen,  to  any 
other  kind  of  manure. 

Although  the  lining  of  the  pond  with  clay  was  a  good  precaution,  it  might, 
however,  be  dispensed  with;  for,  on  draining  the  pond,  the  earth  at  the 
bottom  would  be  found  saturated  with  the  drainage,  and  being  scraped  up, 
would  make  excellent  manure. 

tThe  account  from  which  this  was  extracted  says  'that  the  quantity 
allowed  was  20,000  gallons  per  imperial  acre  :  but  on  calcuiatin",'  the  urine  at 
360  gallons  per  week,  and  presuming  it  to  have  been  mixed  with  four  times 
the  same  quantity  of  water, — as  there  stated,— the  whole  amount  furnished 
during  the  year  would  only  be  93,600  gallons ;  yet  the  extent  of  ground  thus 
manured  ainounted, — in  the  year  1828.  to  40  imperial  acres;  in  1S30,  to  46 
imperial  acres;  in  1S31,  to  50  imperial  acres;  and  in  1»32,  to  80  imperial 
acres— of  which  the  one  half  was  watered  again  alter  the  first  crop  of  clover 
was  cut  in  1631  and  1832:  there  must  therefore  be  an  error  in  the  quantity 
of  urine.    See  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  No.  xii.  p.  9a — 97. 


76  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

that  which  had  not  been  so  treated.  Even  in  March  it  afforded 
a  full  bite ;  but  should  the  grass  be  wanted  for  pasture,  and 
not  for  cutting,  the  manure  should  not  be  applied  later  than 
December,  as,  when  deferred  until  February,  the  cattle  are 
rather  shy  in  eating  it.  No.  2.— The  effect  when  applied  to 
clover-lea,  to  be  broken  up  for  oats,  was  very  perceptible ;  the 
increase  of  crop  being  about  one-third.  No.  3. — For  wheat  it 
answers  well  on  a  light  soil ;  but  on  stiff  or  clay  land  it  does 
no  good.  If  laid  on  when  the  land  is  wet,  it  is  also  of  no  per- 
ceptible benefit  to  the  wheat;  but  if  applied  under  more 
favourable  circumstances,  that  crop  would  probably  be  increased 
Glx)ut  one-fourth.  No.  4. — To  barley  its  application  was 
found  injurious ;  for,  although  the  bulk  of  the  crop  was  great, 
yet  the  strav/  was  so  soft  and  weak  that  it  lodged.  No.  5. — 
Potatoes  grew  to  a  large  size,  but  they  were  watery  and  quite 
unfit  for  the  table ;  though  the  application  of  a  little  dung 
along  with  the  urine  improved  their  quality.  No.  6. — On 
turnijis  it  was  not  found  half  so  efficient  as  fermented  dung. 

It  appears  that  this  species  of  liquid  manure  applies  best  to 
grass ;  a  doctrine  which  is  corroborated  by  the  experience  of 
Mr.  Harley,  the  proprietor  of  the  celebrated  dairy  near  Glas- 
gow, who  says, — 'that  the  advantages  of  irrigating  grass-lands 
with  cows'  urine  almost  exceeds  belief:  last  season  some  small 
fields  were  cut  six  times,  averaging  fifteen  inches  in  length 
at  each  cutting,  and  the  sward  very  thick.'  It  was  also  found 
to  succeed  best  after  a  shower,  or  when  the  ground  was  moist; 
but  if  laid  on  during  sultry  weather,  it  was  advantageous  to 
mix  it  with  one-third  of  w'ater;  and  although  that  was  not 
thought  necessary  in  spring  or  autumn,  yet,  judging  from  the 
quantity  used,  it  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  rather  pro- 
fusely added.  We  learn,  indeed,  from  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
that,  'during  the  putrefaction  of  urine,  the  greatest  part  of  the 
toluble  matter,  contained  in  it  is  dissipated.'  He  therefore 
recommends  tliat  'it  should  be  consumed  as  fresh  as  possible, 
but  if  not  mixed  with  solid  compost,  it  should  be  diluted  with 
water,  as,  when  undiluted,  it  contains  too  m.uch  animal  matter 
to  form  a  proper  fluid  nutriment  for  absorption  by  the  roots  of 
plants.'  This  theory,  it  wall  however  be  recollected,  contra- 
dicts both  the  Flemish  and  the  Chinese  practice,  which  favours 
a  protracted  degree  of  fermentation ;  but  he  admits  that  'putrid 
urine  abounds  in  ammoniacal  salts;  and,  though  less  active 
than  fresh  urine,  that  it  is  a  very  powerful  manure.'     It  can- 


ON  MANURES.  77 

not,  indeed,  be  doubted  that,  in  whatever  state  it  may  be  found 
the  most  effectual,  it  is  at  least  well  worthy  of  attention,  and 
we  recommend  it  strongly  to  the  consideration  of  all  experi- 
mental farmers. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MINERAL  MANURES. CHALK — LIME. 

The  manures  which  we  term  alkaline  and  calcareous,  con- 
sist chiefly  of  those  substances  which  combine  with  acids, 
though  generally  with  the  loss  of  their  distinctive  characters, 
and  out  of  which  lime  may  be  extracted  by  the  process  of 
burning.  The  extent  of  their  utility  is  only  ascertained  by 
practice,  which  does  not  speak  a  uniform  language  in  every 
place,  for  scarcely  a  farmer  is  to  be  found  who  is  acquainted 
with  the  exact  effect  of  their  properties  upon  soils ;  from  which 
it  may  be  readily  imagined  that  many  will  form  erroneous 
opinions,  arising  out  of  the  local  circumstances  of  their  own 
farms.  Their  chief  advantage,  in  a  natural  state,  seems,  how- 
ever, to  be  rather  mechanical  and  alterative,  than  nutritive. 
They  form  a  useful  component  part  of  the  earth;  and,  in  cer- 
tain proportions,  they  are  found  to  be  essential  to  the  fertility 
of  most  soils,  or  'perhaps  necessary  even  to  their  proper  tex- 
ture, as  an  ingredient  in  the  organs  of  plants.'  The  primitive 
constituents  of  which  they  are  formed  are  composed  of  chalk, 
of  limestone,  or  of  the  shells  of  fish — and  on  being  submitted 
to  the  action  of  fire,  lime  is  produced. 

[Chalk — Is  a  pure  calcareous  earth,  having  the  same  pro- 
perties as  limestone  ;  but  as  it  occurs  in  deposite  to  no  extent 
in  this  country,  we  have  omitted  any  beyond  this  casual  men- 
tion of  it.] 

Limestone. — If  employed  without  being  burned,  its  effects 
upon  the  land  are  very  slow :  it  acts  upon  the  soil  during  many 
years  as  a  mild  calcareous  earth,  but  its  duration  and  effects 
are  proportioned  to  its  purity,  as  the  less  alloy  which  it  con- 
tains, the  stronger  will  it  be,  and  the  operation  of  changing  it 
into  lime  is  of  no  further  use  than  as  a  mode  of  rendering  it 
more  promptly  effective.  As  a  gradual  improver  of  the  soil, 
it  may  even  be  rendered  more  useful  than  quicklime. 
7* 


78  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

Fish- Shells. — The  shells  of  fish,  when  burnt,  produce  the 
purest  species  of  lime,  but  they  are  more  commonly  employed 
in  a  pounded  state,  in  which  they  may  be  so  advantag-eously 
used,  that  oyster-shells,  when  crusiied  and  drilled  upon  27-inch 
ridg-es,  at  the  rate  of  40  bushels  per  acre,  produced  as  fine  a 
crop  of  turnips  as  another  field  of  the  same  land,  manured,  for 
the  sake  of  the  experiment,  at  Mr.  Coke's,  at  Holkham,  with 
farm-dung-  at  the  rate  of  8  tons  per  acre ;  nor  was  there  any 
apparent  difference  in  the  succeeding  crops  of  barley  and  clo- 
ver. The  powder  has  also  been  tried  at  the  same  farm,  for 
wheat,  in  competition  with  rape-dust — both  powder  and  dust 
at  the  rate  of  4  cwt.  per  acre,  each  drilled  on  a  light  gravelly 
loam,  in  both  spring  and  autumn.  The  crop  was  not,  in  either 
case,  measured,  but  there  was  no  perceptible  difference  in 
either.  The  field  was  afterwards  sown  with  turnips,  and  the 
produce  proved  a  good  crop.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  result 
of  these  experiments,  no  fair  conclusion- can  be  drawn  from 
them  regarding  their  respective  effects,  as  manure,  in  that 
sense  in  which  it  is  understood  to  mean  nutriment;  for, 
although  lime  may  excite  the  powers  of  other  nutritive  matter 
in  the  soil,  and  thus  promote  vegetation,  it  possesses  no  sub- 
stance, within  it-self,  which  can  impart  nourishment. 

In  some  places  these  shells  are  found  in  large  beds  almost 
entire,  and  they  may  be  then  either  ground  by  passing  them 
through  the  oil-cake  crusher,  or  broken  into  pieces  by  repeatedly 
drawing  a  heavy  stone  or  iron  roller  over  them  when  spread 
upon  a  floor  of  flags  or  clinkers.  There  is,  however,  a  more 
economical  mode  of  attaining  the  same  object,  which  is  by 
merely  making  them  the  lower  tier  of  a  dung-hill,  or  by 
spreading  them  at  the  bottom  of  the  farm-yard,  in  which  the 
drainage  of  the  urine  will  decompose  them,  and  in  that  state 
the  manure  will  possess  all  the  advantage  of  a  compost  with 
lime.  They  may  also  be  used  whole  on  stiff  land  or  clay,  on 
which  they  act  mechanically,  opening  and  loosening  the  clods, 
and  by  that  means  making  way  for  the  roots  to  penetrate  their 
fibres.  To  such  land  they  will  be  found  very  serviceable,  and 
as  they  moulder  gradually,  every  year  a  little,  until  they  are 
quite  spent,  they  wear  down  slowly,  and  their  effects,  when 
laid  on  in  sufficient  quantity,  are  long  perceptible;  but  they 
sliould  not  be  applied  to  sandy  ground. 

On  many  parts  of  our  coast,  shell-sand  also  forms  a  valuable 
species  of  manure,  for  the  shells  which  are  deposited  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea  become  there  in  time  decomposed,  and  the 


ON  MANURES.  79 

sand  which  is  within  reach  of  the  tide,  being-  thrown  upon  the 
sliore  in  storms,  is,  in  some  places,  carted  oft",  and  laid  upon  the 
land  with  considerable  advantage,  though  in  other  parts  the 
practice  seems  utterly  unknown.  Being  finely  attenuated,  it 
blends  intimately  with  the  soil,  and  thus  produces  very  sensi- 
ble effects  in  the  correction  of  cold  clays  and  cohesive  loams, 
on  which  it  is  usually  laid  to  the  amount  of  about  twenty  tons 
per  acre.  Its  chief  value  will,  however,  be  proportioned  to  the 
quantity  of  calcareous  matter,  or  of  shells,  which  it  contains,  and 
this  is  in  some  places  found  to  be  so  large  as  nearly  to  equal 
the  common  properties  of  lime. 

It  is  also  found  in  strata,  imbedded  in  sand-cliffs,  at  the 
height  sometimes  of  40  or  50  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
in  which  places  it  is  generally  denominated  crag,  and  was,  no 
doubt,  deposited  in  former  ages,  ere  the  water  had  receded 
from  the  shore. 

Lime — Is  applied  to  a  great  variety  of  uses :  it  is  employed 
in  medicine  as  an  antacid ;  mortar  is  composed  of  it,  when 
combined  with  sand  ;  and  it  serves  as  a  manure,  which  is  the 
only  view  in  which  we  now  have  to  regard  it.  When  used 
for  the  purposes  of  agriculture,  it  is  formed  by  exposing  the 
substances  we  have  mentioned  to  a  certain  degree  of  heat  in 
the  furnace,  or  kiln,  of  the  lime-burner.  When  this  has  been 
continued  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  their  weight  becomes 
considerably  diminished,  though  they  retain  their  former  shape 
and  bulk ;  and  either  limestone  or  chalk,  when  thus  reduced, 
is  in  most  places  known  by  the  name  either  of  lime-shells,  or 
shell-lime,  or  simply  shells.  In  this  state  it  is  called  quick- 
lime: the  materials  of  which  it  is  thus  composed  possess  hardly 
any  active  property,  but  when  burned,  it  then  becomes  caustic 
to  the  tongue,  and  effects  the  speedy  decomposition  of  most 
vegetable  and  animal  bodies.  When  applied  in  this  form — 
either  in  the  way  of  compost,  or  spread  over  the  soil  by  itself — 
it  is  so  far  from  affording  nutriment  to  any  thing  that  may  be 
there  growing,  that,  were  its  efffects  to  be  long  continued,  it 
would  consume  it.  But  if  water  be  thrown  upon  it,  a  great 
degree  of  heat  is  in  a  short  time  generated ;  the  burnt  shells 
begin  to  crack  and  burst  asunder,  and  the  mass  gradually 
crumbles  down,  or  falls,  as  it  is  more  commonly  said,  into  a 
fine  powder,  which  becomes  white,  of  whatever  colour  it  may 
have  been  before  it  was  calcined.  Or  when  it  has  been 
exposed  for  a  short  time  to  the  influence  of  the  atmosphere,  it 
is  also  found  to  lose  this  caustic  power,  and  it  is  thus  recon- 
H 


80  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

verted  into  a  substance  of  the  same  mild  nature  as  that  from 
which  it  was  obtained — in  all  its  properties  exactly  resembling 
chalk.* 

This  operation  is  called  slacking,  or  slaking;  and  lime, 
when  deprived  of  its  scorching  quality,  is  termed  slaked-lime, 
or,  in  the  language  of  chemists,  effete.  Instead  of  watering  it 
in  heaps,  the  practice  which  generally  prevails  is  to  lay  the 
shells  upon  a  fallow,  in  small  hillocks  of  about  a  bushel  and  a 
half  each,  either  thrown  up  around  the  circumference  of  each 
heap,  or  covered  up  immediately  with  some  fresh  soil  made 
very  fine,  which,  when  laid  on  moderately  thick,  should  be 
clapped  close  down  with  the  back  of  the  spade,  so  as  to  exclude 
the  admission  of  either  air  or  rain.  In  this  state  it  may  remain 
for  a  few  days,  care  being  taken  during  that  time  to  keep  every 
part  of  the  heaps  tight  and  sound,  when  it  will  be  found  that 
the  moisture  of  the  earth  will  have  completely  slaked  it. 
Although  it  may  be  thought  that  this  covering  of  the  lime  is 
unnecessary,  it  yet  has  this  use — that  without  it  tlie  rain  would 
form  crusts  over  the  heaps,  which  would  not  only  prevent  the 
moisture  from  penetrating  regularly  through  them,  but  would 
also  hinder  them  from  being  pulverized  without  considerable 
difficQlty.  It  will  then  be  fit  for  use,  and  when  spread  over 
the  field  it  should  be  immediately  ploughed  in  with  a  shallow 
furrow,  and  well  stirred  with  the  harrows  in  every  direction. 
Upon  an  18-feet  ridge  these  heaps  will  be  the  same  distance, 
or  6  yards  asunder,  from  centre  to  centre,  if  about  200  bushels 
be  laid  on  per  acre;  and  so  on  when  other  quantities  are 
applied.  Instead  of  slaking  the  lime  in  this  manner,  it  has 
however  been  recommended  'to  lay  it  down  in  a  long  heap,  or 
mound,  on  one  side  of  the  field  on  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 
Two  labourers  are  then  employed  to  turn  the  mound,  and  a 
third  waters  it.  When  the  whole  has  been  thus  gone  over,  it 
is  allowed  to  lie  for  four  or  five  days,  after  uhich  it  is  again 
turned,  and  if  any  part  of  the  lime  should  be  found  to  be  still 
unslaked,  more  water  is  added.' 

From  this  it  will  be  perceived,  that  one  chief  cause  which 
renders  the  burning  of  lime  necessary,  arises  fi'om  the  extreme 
difficulty  of  obtaining  the  powder  without  the  process  of 
grinding  ;  but  by  being  thus  more  finely  divided,  it  can  also  be 
more  evenly  diffused  over  the  soil,  with  which,  therefore,  it 

*\Vhen  moistened  with  sea-water,  lime  yields  more  alkali  (soda)  than 
when  treated  with  common  water ;  and  is  said  to  have  been  used  in  some 
cases  with  more  benefit  as  manure. 


ON  MANURES.  81 

becomes  more  evenly  mixed,  and  more  prompt  in  its  effects 
upon  the  land;  and  when  laid  upon  it  in  its  hot  state,  it  not 
only  occasions  the  destruction  of  weeds,  but  powerfully  stimu- 
lates the  action  of  manure.  An  idea,  indeed,  generally  pre- 
vails, in  consequence  of  burning  being  the  mode  usually 
resorted  to  in  the  employment  of  lime,  that  calcination  is 
necessary  to  render  it  lit  for  use  as  manure,  but  this,  as  we 
have  already  remarked,  is  a  mere  mistake. 

One  very  strong  reason  for  applying  it  instantly  is,  that,  if 
spread  immediately  after  being  turned,  and  while  yet  in  a 
powdery  and  caustic  state,  a  smaller  quantity  may  sutRce  to 
cover  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground,  and  to  come  into  con- 
tact with  more  minute  particles  of  the  soil;  whereas,  if  suf- 
fered to  lie  for  any  length  of  time  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
it  imbibes  so  much  moisture,  that  it  runs  into  clods,  and  can 
never  again  be  so  equally  divided  into  small  parts,  wherefore 
a  much  larger  quantity  is  required  to  produce  the  same  imme- 
diate effect.  It  is  in  this  state,  also,  that  it  acts  the  most 
powerfully  upon  all  organic  matter  which  may  be  already 
lying  undecomposed  within  the  soil — insects,  the  fibres  and 
roots  of  obnoxious  plants,  and  the  seeds  of  weeds,  which  it  dis- 
solves and  transforms  into  mould.  It  is  also  more  efficacious 
than  effete  lime  in  its  influence  upon  what  is  called  sour  land, 
though  simple  chalk,  if  applied  in  large  quantities,  will  correct 
the  evil.  Neither  is  it  improbable  that,  during  its  process  of 
slaking,  the  heat  which  it  generates  by  the  absorption  of  mois- 
ture causes  it  to  swell  in  a  manner  which  the  tenacity  of  the 
soil  cannot  resist:  thus  producing  fermentation,  it  not  only 
eventually  makes  the  land  mellow,  but  renders  matter  which 
was  comparatively  inert,  nutritive,  and  is  probably  more  bene- 
ficial to  land  containing  much  woody  fibre,  or  animal  fibrous 
matter,  than  any  calcareous  substance  in  its  natural  state.* 
If,  therefore,  quicklime  really  possesses  superior  qualities  as  a 
manure,  it  seems  only  fair  to  infer  that,  the  greater  the  strength 
and  vigor  of  such  properties,  the  more  assuredly  will  they 
effect  its  purpose  when  in  that  state,  than  after  it  has  been 
rendered  effete. 

*  In  its  first  effect,  burnt  lime  decomposes  animal  matter,  and  seems  to 
accelerate  its  progress  to  a  capacity  of  affording  nutriment  to  vegetables  : 
gradually,  however,  the  lime  is  neutralized  by  carbonic  acid,  and  converted 
into  a  substance  analogous  to  chalk  :  but  in  this  case  it  more  perfectly 
mixes  with  the  other  ingredients  of  the  soil,  and  is  more  pervadingly  dif- 
fused, more  finely  divided,  than  mere  chalk  artificially  applied.— Sir  Hum- 
phry Davy,  Elem.  of  Agric.  Chem.,  lect.  vii. 


82  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

Considerable  judg-ment  is  however  requisite  in  this  mode  of 
its  application ;  for,  althoug-h  it  promotes  putrefaction,  and  con- 
verts the  pulp,  or  saponaceous  substance,  of  vegetable  matter 
into  the  food  of  plants,  yet,  if  too  great  a  portion  of  lime  be 
added,  it  may  have  a  contrary  effect;  and  it  always  destroys, 
to  a  certain  extent,  the  efficacy  of  animal  manures,  either  by 
combining  with  certain  of  their  elements,  or  by  giving  to  them 
some  new  arrangement.  It  is  necessary  to  the  reduction  of 
carrion,  or  for  qualifying  the  noxious  effluvia  of  night-soil ;  but 
is  so  injurious  when  mixed  with  any  common  dung,  that  it 
tends  to  render  the  extractive  matter  insoluble :  thus,  if  a  suf- 
ficent  quantity  of  quicklime  be  added  to  a  heap  of  stable-dung 
in  a  state  of  fermentation,  it  will  set  it  on  fire,  and  the  whole 
will  be  consumed.  It  should  never,  therefore,  be  mixed  with 
farm-yard  manure,  unless  a  small  quantity  be  found  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  prompt  destruction  of  seed-weeds,  or  the  de- 
composition of  roots;  but  when  laid  upon  the  land  during  the 
same  season,  the  dung  should  be  ploughed  down  alone,  and 
the  lime  afterwards  harrowed  in  with  the  seed-furrow.  It 
may,  indeed,  be  observed,  that  the  dung  dropped  from  horses 
in  their  work  about  kilns  is  usually  so  completely  destroyed 
by  the  lime  which  falls  from  the  carts  in  filling,  that  it  is 
generally  found  useless  to  apply  it  to  the  land.  It  also  con- 
sumes the  growing  herbage;  but,  if  prudently  used,  it  does 
not  appear  to  reach  the  roots,  as  a  fresh  verdure  soon  after 
arises,  and  seeds  which  had  previously  lain  dormant  in  the  soil 
are  brought  into  action.* 

By  neutralizing  the  acids  combined  with  the  mould,  this 
manure  qualifies  the  vegetable  and  other  soluble  substances 
also  present  in  it,  and  occasions  the  whole  to  be  converted,  by 
the  influence  of  the  atmosphere  and  of  water,  into  nutriment 
for  plants;  but  in  poor  soils,  having  less  vegetable  matter  to  . 
convert  into  mucilage,  it  acts  so  powerfully  as  not  only  to  ex- 
haust such  land  by  its  final  effects,  but  to  be  prejudicial  to  the 

*A  circumstance  has  been  related  of  mild  and  quicklime  having  been 
separately  laid  upon  land,  with  the  follovving  effect :— the  spot  upon  which  the 
former  was  laid  was  soon  covered  with  white  clover,  but  on  that  on  which  the 
latter  was  left,  no  vegetation  w'hatever  took  place  for  a  considerable  time, 
when  it  at  length  produced  couch-grass,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  hot 
lime  having  retained  its  causticity  so  long  as  to  have  entirely  destroyed  the 
seeds  of  the  clover,  which  are  generally  ditfused  in  calcareous  soils,  and 
consequently  flourish  through  the  application  of  mild  lime;  while  those  of 
the  couch  were  either  more  difficult  to  eradicate,  or  wefe  spread  from  the 
adjoining  land.— Sinclair's  Code  of  Agric,  3d  edit.,  note  p.  235. 


ON  MANURES.  83 

immediate  crops.*  We  have,  indeed,  the  opinion  of  a  very 
experienced  farmer,  who  is  also  well  versed  in  chemistry, 
*  that,  should  much  rain  immediately  succeed  the  ploughing, 
and  any  considerable  portion  of  sand  be  either  in  the  lime  or 
in  the  soil,  it  is  almost  a  moral  certainty  that  such  soil  will  be 
in  a  worse  state  than  it  was  before  the  lime  was  put  on, 
because,  the  moisture  being  retained  by  the  lime  and  the  soil, 
and  the  tenacity  of  the  sub-stratum  not  suffering  the  super- 
abundance to  pass  quickly  away,  it  causes  the  whole  to  run 
together,  and  form  a  compact  and  impervious  bottom,  which 
before,  however,  might  have  been  pervious  in  a  slow  degree. 
That  this  must  be  the  case  is  evident  from  this  consideration, 
that  quicklime,  mixed  with  a  certain  portion  of  sand,  and  duly 
moistened,  contracts  and  forms  a  substance  which  we  call 
mortar,  or  cement ;  in  proportion,  therefore,  as  the  quality  of 
these  materials  is  more  or  less  perfect,  so  does  the  substance 
become  more  or  less  compact,  hard,  solid,  and  impervious: 
such  must  be  the  condition  of  the  soil ;  and  it  is  but  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  a  great  part  of  the  seed  sown  upon  it  must 
perish.' 

It  may  indeed  be  alleged  that  the  caustic  action  of  quick- 
lime can  never  be  exerted  to  any  great  extent,  as  it  attracts 
fixed  air  too  strongly  not  to  become  immediately  slaked;  but 
its  effects  are  found  to  be  powerful  even  in  that  short  period, 
provided  that  it  be  promptly  and  intimately  mixed  with  the 
soil ;  for  though  the  land  should  contain  an  aljundance  of  vege- 
table matter,  yet  if  it  has  been  injudiciously  cropped,  or  in- 
sufficiently manured,  the  lime  will  only  add  to  its  infertility. 

As  the  dust  of  quicklime  is  prejudicial  to  health,  care  should 
be  taken  by  those  who  spread  it  over  the  land  to  work  upon 
the  windward  side.  Precaution  should  also  be  used,  when  it 
is  ploughed  in  immediately  after  being  spread,  to  do  so  when 
the  soil  is  quite  dry,  as  well  also  as  to  prevent  the  horses  from 
passing  through  any  wet  places  when  going  to  field;  for 
though  the  powder  of  dry  lime,  when  in  a  caustic  state,  does 
not  take  any  apparent  effect  on  the  skin,  and  the  hands  of  a 
person  who  has  wrought  in  it  are  not  in  the  least  injured,  yet 

*  'All  the  experiments  yet  made  render  it  probable  that  the  food  of  plants, 
as  it  is  taken  up  from  the  soil,  is  imbibed  by  the  extremities  of  the  roots  only  ; 
hence,  as  the  extremities  of  the  roots  contain  no  visible  opening,  we  may 
conclude  that  the  food  which  they  imbibe  must  be  in  a  state  of  solution  at 
first ;  and,  in  fact,  the  carbonaceous  matter  in  all  active  manures  is  in  such  a 
state  of  combination  as  to  be  soluble  in  water  whenever  a  beneficial  effect  is 
obtained.'— L)r.  Thomas  Thomson's  Chemistry,  3d  edit.,  vol.  V.  p.  376. 
n-Z 


84  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

it  very  soon  corrodes  the  hair  and  flesh  if  it  has  access  to 
water,  and  horses  have  been  thus  irrecoverably  lamed.  When 
Linliarnessed,  they  should,  therefore,  be  kept  dry  until  tho- 
roughly brushed  over,  so  as  to  completely  remove  the  dust 
wliich  may  adhere  to  their  coats,  and  more  particularly  to 
their  feet  and  legs.  They  may  thus  work  without  any 
danger;  but,  in  case  of  accident  happening  to  either  men  or 
horses  through  being  scalded  by  the  lime,  the  part  affected 
should  be  inunediately  washed,  either  with  vinegar  or  with 
very  sour  milk,  by  which  its  irritation  will  be  prevented. 
After  the  lime  has  been  slaked,  it  will  become  effete  in  about 
a  week,  and  will  then  be  as  little  corrosive  as  any  common 
kind  of  earth,  so  that  the  horses  may  work  among  it  with 
entire  safety:  but  if  it  has  been  suffered  to  run  into  clods 
ue/ore  it  was  spread,  these,  if  not  broken  into  small  pieces,  will 
be  longer  in  absorbing  a  sufficient  portion  of  air,  and  therefore 
will  remain  longer  in  an  acrid  state,  so  that  the  ploughing 
will  be  better  deferred  for  another  week,  or  even  longer. 

When  quicklime  has  been  deprived  of  its  causticity,  it  is 
called  by  chemists  carbonate  of  lime,  and  in  that  mild  state 
it  does  not  act  upon  animal  or  vegetable  matter  with  the  same 
violence  as  quicklirne,  but  instead  of  dissipating  any  portion 
of  the  substance  which  may  be  contained  in  the  soil,  it  facili- 
tates its  reduction  into  that  state  by  which  it  the  most  effectu- 
ally assists  vegetation.  Neither  has  it  the  same  tendency  to 
combine,  as  it  were  into  a  mortar,  with  the  sand  of  poor  clay. 

Lime,  however,  whether  quick  or  slaked,  when  used  by 
itself,  without  any  addition  of  earth,  is  not  possessed  of  any 
vegetative  quality:  thus, 'seeds  planted  in  a  ffower-pot  filled 
with  powdered  carbonate  of  lime,  regularly  watered,  vegetated 
feebly,  made  little  progress,  and  died  witbout  coming  to  per- 
fection; but  when  partly  filled  with  garden-mould,  and  car- 
bonate of  lime  1 3  inch  thick  over  it,  the  plants  put  down 
tlieir  radicles  straight  through  the  lime,  without  ramifying  or 
stretching  sideways,  till  they  arrived  at  the  mould.  Even  in 
a  mixture  where  lime  was  only  one-fifth,  the  plants  were  poor 
and  sickly,  and  made  no  progress ;  and  when  quick,  it,  with 
the  aid  of  water,  suddenly  destroys  all  vegetable  substances.' 
It  may  even  be  hurtful  to  vegetation  when  laid  in  too  large 
a  quantity  upon  very  light  and  warm  soils,  for,  by  quicken- 
ing evaporation,  it  dries  the  land  too  much,  by  which  means 
plants  are  deprived  of  the  moisture  necesvsary  to  their  suste- 
nance;  therefore  it  is  that  calcareous   earths  are  frequently 


^  ON  MANURES.  85 

known  by  farmers  as 'burning  soils;'  and,  by  its  injudicioije 
use  or  repetition,  without  the  aid  of  animal  or  vegetable 
manure  to  supply  the  nourishment  of  which  they  have  been 
deprived  by  crops,  the  growth  of  which  has  been  thus  forced, 
land,  though  of  superior  quality,  may  at  length  become  ex- 
hausted. Thus  experience  teaclies  that  lime,  when  applied 
to  land,  has  different  effects  upon  some  soils  than  it  has  upon 
others :  on  many  there  is  a  rapid  and  permanent  improvement, 
on  others  there  is  less  benefit,  and  on  some  it  is  said  rather  to 
retard  than  to  promote  vegetation.  This  is,  no  doubt,  chiefly 
influenced  by  various  unascertained  properties  in  the  soil,  and 
partly  also  by  differences  in  the  qualities  of  the  lime  itself, 
arising  from  its  mixture  with  other  earths. 

Whether  it  possesses  any  further  properties,  through  the 
stimulating  effects  of  light  and  heat  upon  the  vegetable  fibre, 
has  been  conjectured,  but  has  not  been  supported  by  any 
positive  fact,  and  seems  to  be  contradicted  by  the  slow  effect 
of  effete  lime  in  its  operation  upon  the  soil.  It  is,  however, 
worthy  of  remark,  that  calcareous  earth  is  found  in  the  ashes 
of  all  vegetables ;  that  it  is  present  in  a  larger  proportion  in 
wheat,  clover,  and  some  other  plants  whose  growth  is  espe- 
cially promoted  by  the  use  of  calcareous  manures,  and  many 
are  said  not  to  ripen  in  ground  in  which  it  is  entirely  wanting. 
We  may  therefore  conclude  that  it  is  of  the  highest  importance 
in  the  process  of  vegetation,  and  that  an  accurate  investigation 
of  its  mode  of  action,  by  enabling  us  to  judge  with  more  cer- 
tainty of  its  powers,  would  greatly  tend  to  the  improvement 
of  agriculture.  It  is  indeed  much  to  be  regretted  that  the 
subject  has  not  been  more  fully  investigated,  and  that  some 
more  definite  judgment  has  not  been  framed  regarding  tJie 
properties  of  lime,  the  effects  of  which  in  its  application  to  the 
soil  are  exposed  to  the  most  contradictory  results.  Much 
money  has  thus  been  uselessly  expended  and  labour  thrown 
away,  which,  under  better  information,  might  have  been 
saved ;  and  without  scientific  analysis  of  the  component  parts 
both  of  soils  and  of  lime,  we  remain  much  in  the  dark  regard- 
ing their  effects  on  vegetation;  but  judging  from  the  faint 
lights  with  which  we  have  been  furnished,  we  shall  still  en- 
deavour, by  comparing  science  with  practice,  to  obtain  such 
instruction  as  may  guide  us  to  an  economical  and  useful  appli- 
cation of  this  manure  to  field  culture. 

Application  of  Lime. — Those  purposes  appear  to  be — first, 
to  render  whatever  substances  may  be  lodged  in  the  soil,  or 


86  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

matter  which  forms  part  of  it,  and  which  may  be  injurious  to 
vegetation,  either  harmless  or  useful;  and  thus  to  prepare  the 
soil  for  the  reception  and  nourishment  of  seeds  and  plants:  and 
secondly,  to  facilitate  the  decomposition  of  putrescible  matter,  so 
as  to  furnish  food  to  vegetables  during  their  growth.  It  has  been 
proved  by  careful  experiment,  that  the  application  of  lime  is  tfie 
only  known  alterative  which,  upon  poor,  weak,  and  weeping 
clays,  has  power  to  heal  the  soil.  With  the  assistance  of 
water,  it  suddenly  decomposes  all  animal  and  vegetable 
bodies,  and  when  thus  spread  upon  neglected  ground  covered 
with  heath  and  moss,  the  old  turf  is  decomposed,  and  a  sapo- 
naceous matter  is  formed,  which  sinks  into  the  soil  and  covers 
it  with  sweet  herbage.  We  also  know  that  'it  imparts  a 
certain  degree  of  vigour  to  some  peculiar  plants, — as,  for 
instance,  sainfoin,  the  roots  of  which  penetrate  far  into  tlie 
interstices  of  chalk,  and  grcJw  luxuriantly,  though  only  covered 
by  a  slight  coat  of  inferior  soil.* 

It  is,  however,  an  error, — though  entertained  by  many 
farmers, — to  suppose  that  lime  in  any  state  comprises  fer- 
tilizing properties  within  itself:  and  that,  without  operating 
upon  the  soil,  or  upon  the  substances  which  it  contains,  it  is 
an  enriching  manure.  It  does  not  possess  any  fertilizing 
principle  in  its  own  composition :  it  is  merely  a  calcareous 
earth  combined  with  fixed  air,  and  holding  a  medium  between 
sand  and  clay,  which,  in  some  measure,  remedies  the  deficien- 
cies of  both.  But  though,  when  alone,  unfavourable  to  the 
growth  of  plants,  yet  experience  shows  that  it  is  an  ingredient 
in  soils  which,  whether  naturally  form  in  »•  a  component  part 
of  their  substance,  or  judiciously  mixed  with  them  by  the  hus- 
bandman, adds  greatly  to  their  fertility,  for  it  has  the  power 
of  attracting  much  both  from  the  earth  and  from  the  air,  which 
occasions  the  decomposition  of  plants;  and  thus  converting 
them  into  nutriment,  it  gives  power  as  to  vegetation  which, 
without  its  operation,  would  otherwise  lie  dormant.  It  also 
appears  to  act  with  great  force  upon  that  substance  which, 
being  already  converted  by  tlie  decomposition  of  plants  into  a 
species  of  earth,  we  call  mould.\ 

The  other  causes  with  which  we  are  acquainted  regarding 

*  See  Naismith's  Elements  of  Ajrrif  nlture,  p  .?34.  Timer,  Principes  Rai- 
sonnesd'A};rriculture,2iKle  edit.,  tome  ii.  p.  3S7  ;  and  Anderson's  Essajs,  No. 
vi..  Aphorism  iv.,  in  uiiicli  it  is  stated,  that  calcareous  matters  act  as  power- 
fully \ipon  land  that  is  naturally  poor,  as  upon  land  that  is  more  richly  impreg- 
nated with  those  substances  which  tend  to  produce  a  luxuriant  vegetation. 

t  Respecting  the  formation  of  mould,  see  the  chapter  on  soils. 


ON  MANURES.  g7 

the  operation  of  lime  as  a  manure  would  lead  to  a  chemical 
discussion,  which  could  only  prove  uninteresting-  to  the  gene- 
rality of  our  readers;  we  shall  therefore  confine  ourselves  to 
the  following  observations : — There  can  be  doubt  that  it  is  a 
most  powerful  stimulant  when  applied  to  deep  loams  and 
heavy  clays,  which  contain  mould  of  a  nature  so  sour  as  to 
appear  to  unfit  them  for  the  purposes  of  vegetation ;  or  to  land 
which  has  been  previously  either  more  or  less  manured  with 
animal  or  vegetable  substances,  without  any  addition  of  lime 
or  other  calcareous  matter,  in  which  case  it  often  produces 
effects  far  more  fertilizing  than  the  application  of  dung,  for  its 
active  powers  render  every  particle  of  the  putrescent  manure 
useful ;  but  if  the  latter  be  not  afterwards  repeated  at  no  great 
distance  of  time,  the  soil  will,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years, 
become  considerably  exhausted.  In  all  arable  land,  however 
impoverished  it  may  be,  either  by  nature  or  bad  management, 
there  yet  always  exists  some  portion  of  mould,  and,  on  this,  a 
first  dressing  of  lime  occasions  a  sensible  unprovement  of  the 
soil,  which  soon  becomes  apparent  in  the  increased  product  of 
the  crops.  A  second  dressing  will  also  be  attended  with  some 
apparently  good  effect ;  but  unless  that,  and  every  succeeding- 
repetition,  be  accompanied  with  ample  additions  of  farm-yard 
manure,  or  other  putrescent  matter,  to  supply  the  loss  thus 
occasioned  by  the  exhaustion  of  the  vegetative  power,  every 
future  crop  will  be  diminished.  The  land  is  then  necessarily 
thrown  out  of  cultivation,  and  left  for  a  series  of  years  to  re- 
cover itself  under  pasture,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  may 
be  effected  according-  to  its  former  condition :  but  in  the  in- 
terim it  is  rendered  nearly  fruitless.  It  is  thus  that  many 
thousands  of  acres  in  every  part  of  the  kingdom  have  been 
run  to  a  state  of  almost  total  infertility ;  and  it  is  even  said, 
that  the  too  great  use  of  lime,  though  apparently  judiciously 
employed  by  some  of  the  first  farmers  in  the  Lothians,  has 
been  lately  found  very  detrimental  to  their  crops. 

Marsh  lands,  however,  which  have  been  drained,  will 
generally  support  a  rotated  and  abundant  application  of  lime, 
because  they  usually  contain  a  large  proportion  of  matter  upon 
Avhich  the  stimulating  powers  of  lime  are  peculiarly  adapted 
to  act;  and  it  will  be  found  much  better  suited  to  the  purpose 
than  dung.  On  all  rich,  deep,  dry,  and  loamy  soils  it  may 
also  be  applied  with  effect;  for  although  they  contain  within 
themselves  the  component  parts  of  the  best  soils,  yet  they  are 
frequently  found  to  be  sluggish  and  inert;  and  dung-,  whether 


88  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

through  imperfect  fermentation  or  owing  to  the  want  of  cal- 
careous matter,  often  remains  dormant  in  the  land  until  roused 
by  moderate  quantities  of  quicklime,  which,  if  applied  at  distant 
periods,  will  efi'ectually  operate  to  bring  it  into  activity.  It 
should,  however,  be  turned  into  the  ground  some  weeks  before 
the  dung,  in  order  that  it  may  become  thoroughly  slaked  by 
mixture  with  the  soil,  or  otherwise  it  would  have  the  effect  of 
abstracting  some  of  its  nutriment.  Such  soils,  after  the  appli- 
cation of  lime,  produce  much  heavier  crops  with  a  much  smaller 
proportion  of  dung  than  if  no  lime  had  been  used,  because  the 
operation  of  the  latter,  acting  upon  the  dung,  renders  every 
portion  of  it  useful. 

Clay  land  shows  an  evident  disposition  to  combine  with 
lime,  and  it  bears  the  repetition  of  this  species  of  amelioration 
better  than  lighter  soils.  When  applied  to  heavy  tillage  land, 
either  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  its  cohesive  properties,  or 
of  supplying  an  additional  quantity  of  calcareous  matter,  small 
dressings  of  lime  will  have  but  little  effect;  and  if  sand  or  calca- 
reous earths  are  to  be  employed,  it  is  recommended,  by  a  prac- 
tical farmer  of  known  experience,  as  more  economical  to  apply 
them  separately  than  as  a  compost.  It  powerfully  assists  all 
adhesive  soils;  and  v/hen  laid  hot  from  the  kiln  upon  deep 
clay,  it  has  been  known  to  occasion  a  very  large  increase  in 
the  former  crops.  It  has  also  been  often  observed,  in  fallow- 
ing clayey  soils,  '  that,  in  wet  weather,  when  a  dose  of  lime 
lias  been  just  given,  the  land  continues  more  friable,  and  is 
less  apt  to  bind  up  on  the  recurrence  of  drought,  than  where 
it  has  been  neglected.  The  grain  growing  on  the  well-limed 
ground  preserves  its  healthy  appearance  in  wet  seasons,  while 
that  growing  on  land  that  has  not  been  limed  is  yellow  and 
sickly.' 

Upon  sandy  soils,  which  seldom  abound  much  in  vegetable 
matter,  Ihne  has  a  mechanical  operation,  which,  by  combining 
with  the  finer  particles  of  the  soil,  gives  consistence  to  the 
stnple  of  the  land,  and,  attracting  the  moisture  from  the  atmo- 
sphere, it  imparts  it  so  gradually  as  to^  less  liable  to  be  hurt 
by  drought  in  those  parching  seaso^  by  which  crops  are 
injured.  It  is  therefore  said  to  be  cooling  to  hot  land  ;  but  if 
it  be  not  also  mixed  with  some  portion  of  clay,  with  whicli  it 
may  combine,  it  then  is  apt  to  unite  itself  with  the  sand,  with 
which  it  composes  a  kind  of  mortar,  the  effect  of  which  has 
been  already  described,  and  which  cannot  be  dissolved  without 
much  difficulty,  and  the  plough  often  brings  hard  lumps  to  the 


ON  MANURES.  89 

surface  of  the  soil  which  cannot  be  easily  broken.  Thus,  when 
such  land  has  been  frequently  limed,  nothing  can  restore  it 
but  the  abundant  and  reiterated  application  of  putrescent 
manure;  the  demonstration  of  which  is  perceptible  throughout 
many  parts  of  England,  where,  from  possessing  a  chalky  soil 
without  strength  to  maintain  a  sufficiency  of  live  stock  to 
furnish  dung,  the  land  has  in  many  places  been  worn  out 
through  the  inconsiderate  use  of  lime. 

On  the  exhaustion  of  land  by  the  application  of  lime  there 
is,  however,  much  difference  of  opinion.  It  is  indeed  evident 
that  the  continuation  of  cropping,  without  an  addition  of  nutri- 
tive manure,  will  ultimately  exhaust  the  best  soils;  but  though 
their  natural  fertility  be  thus  aided,  it  yet  cannot  depend  en- 
tirely on  that  support.  This  must  be  apparent  if  we  reflect 
that  land,  v/ithout  any  addition  of  animal  or  vegetable  sub- 
stance, will  still  produce  crops:  for  pure  sand,  clay,  and  chalk, 
tliough  each  in  themselves  separately  barren,  yet,  when  mixed 
together,  exert  chemical  influences  upon  each  other,  which, 
by  the  attraction  of  the  air,  the  dews,  and  the  rain,  the  force 
of  the  sun,  and  the  generative  powers  of  growing  vegetables, 
effect  the  production  of  corn  and  fruit.  It  is  therefore  clear 
that  the  land  alone  is  capable  of  vegetation;  but  every  day's 
experience  proves,  that  the  amount  of  its  products,  its  fertility, 
in  short,  depends  in  a  great  degree  upon  the  decomposition  of 
the  substances  which  have  been  previously  converted  into 
vegetable  mould,  or  which  are  added  to  it  by  manure.  Any 
thing  whatever  may  be  called  manure  which,  when  applied 
to  the  soil,  either  rectifies  its  mechanical  effects,  corrects  any 
bad  quality,  and  either  stimulates  it  to  yield,  or  stores  it  with 
nutriment.  Thus,  if  lime  be  laid  upon  pure  sand,  although 
the  latter  would  be  rendered  more  tenacious,  and  would  there- 
by become,  more  favourable  to  the  germination  of  vegetables, 
yet  seeds  could  find  no  nourishment  from  either  the  lime  or 
the  sand,  and  putrescent  manure  would  still  be  necessary  to 
produce  a  crop.  But  if  the  soil  consist  of.  clay  and  sand,  con- 
tainino-  animal  or  veg€||able  matter  in  a  torpid  state  of  decay, 
then  lime  would  be  preferable  to  dung.  The  state  of  the  soil 
should  therefore  be  minutely  inquired  into  before  lime  is  em- 
ployed, and  it  should  be  only  used  to  give  effect  to  the  inert 
substances  with  which  it  may  be  combined. 

By  the  analysis  of  soils,  we  find  that  all  productive  earth 
contains  a  certain  portion  of  lime;  and  although  we  learn 
from  experience  that  its  stimulative  powers  upon  the  roots  of 


90  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

plants  are  very  groat,  yet  we  are  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  the  extent  or  the  exact  manner  in  which  its  influence  is 
broug-ht  into  action,  and  '  we  are  in  a  great  measure  ignorant 
of  the  actual  changes  that  are  produced  upon  the  earth  after 
this  manure  has  been  applied.'  It  would,  however,  seem,  that 
where  it  exhausts,  it  is  only  by  hastening  the  putrefaction  of 
the  animal  and  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  and  by  that 
means  applying  a  larger  portion  of  those  substances  in  a  given 
time  than  could  be  otherwise  afforded  to  the  growth  of  plants. 
It  is  thus  known  to  produce  more  luxuriant  crops,  and  it  will 
also  consequently  enable  the  farmer  to  continue  his  land  in 
tillage,  during  a  certain  time,  with  more  effect  than  if  no 
calcareous  manure  had  been  laid  on;  but,  although  it  may  not 
tend  to  the  deterioration  of  the  original  staple  of  the  soil,  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  it  nmst  be  thus  more  promptly 
deprived  of  its  fertility  than  if  the  exhaustion  of  that  vegetable 
mould  with  wliich  it  had  been  supplied  by  nutritive  manure 
were  occasioned  by  a  more  gradual  process  of  decomposition. 

That  this  is  the  only  way  in  which  effete  lime  can  exhaust 
land,  seems  probable  from  the  large  quantities  of  neutralized 
calcareous  earth  which  are  often  applied  without  any  bad 
effect  in  the  form  of  chalk,  shells,  limestone-gravel,  and  the 
whole  tribe  of  marls.  A  larger  quantity  of  these  is  often er 
laid  on  in  one  year  than  would  be  used  of  lime  in  half  a 
century,  were  the  land  in  tillage  to  be  managed  according  to 
the  custom  of  some  countries;  yet  it  is  not  generally  impove- 
rished, and,  in  many  cases,  it  is  permanently  improved.  This, 
however,  is  probably  occasioned  by  its  combination  with  other 
substances,  which  either  counteract  its  exhausting  powers  or 
supply  the  waste  of  nutritive  matter.  It  must,  however,  be 
admitted,  that  this  is  not  apparent  in  regard  to  chalk,  which 
is  commonly  applied  in  large  quantities  without  any  bad 
effects ;  and  there  are  many  instances  of  soils  more  naturally 
fertile  than  perhaps  any  others  that  are  known,  and  which 
seem  to  consist  almost  wholly  of  calcareous  earth;  but  were 
their  properties  critically  analyzed,  itjij^still  possible  that  they 
might  be  found  essentially  different  fi^i  those  which  they  are 
commonly  supposed  to  possess. 

A  very  eminent  writer  on  agriculture,  when  treating  of 
stimulant  manures,  which  are  generally  supposed  to  be  only 
of  use  when  applied  to  rich  soils,  and  when  applied  to  poor 
land  would  produce  hardly  any,  or  even  hurtful  effects,  says, 
in  contradiction  to  that  theory, — that  'he  is  firmly  convinced, 


OJN  MANURES.  91 

from  repeated  observations,  that  lime  and  other  calcareous 
manures  produce  a  much  greater  proportional  improvement 
upon  poor  soils  than  on  such  as  are  richer:  and  that  lime 
alone  upon  a  poor  soil  will,  in  many  cases,  produce  a  much 
oreator  and  more  lastmg'  degree  of  fertility  than  dung  alone.' 
That,  hosvever,  does  not  throw  any  doubt  on  the  assertion, 
that  it  acts  with  as  great  proportionate  power  upon  land  that 
is  naturally  poor,  as  upon  that  which  is  more  fully  impreg- 
nated with  those  substances  wdiich  tend  to  promote  a  luxuriant 
vegetation;  but  we  believe  that  the  experience  of  farmers  will 
prove  that  its  application  to  poor  land,  and  especially  to  that 
which  has  been  previously  limed,  if  it  does  not  eventually 
tend  to  its  complete  exhaustion,  will  at  least  never  be  found  to 
repay  the  expense. 

The  employment  of  lime  seems  to  be  of  the  greatest  service 
in  the  breaking  up  of  fresh  and  coarse  land,  on  which  it  acts 
more  powerfully  than  on  soil  which  has  been  long  in  cultiva- 
tion, and  indeed  the  most  striking,  improvements  have  been 
effected  by  its  means  on  moorlands  and  mountain;  but  it 
should  be  given  for  the  first  time  abundantly.  Such  is  the 
usual  effect  of  lime  upon  arable  :  upon  grass-land  it  is  laid  in 
smaller  quantities ;  and  in  this  top-dressing,  perhaps  the  pre- 
ferable mode  is  to  apply  it  in  a  compost  with  earth ;  except 
when  the  soil  consists  of  clay.  When  thus  spread  upon  the 
surface,  its  action  upon  the  sward  is  productive  of  the  most 
palpable  improvement,  and  continues  perceptible  during  a 
long  period.  No  other  manure  will  create  so  rapid  a  change; 
for  it  is  such  an  excellent  corrector  of  acidity,  that  it  tends  to 
produce  the  sweetest  herbage  where  only  the  most  unpalatable 
pasture  was  formerly  to  be  found.  This,  indeed,  is  so  appa- 
rent, that  if  a  handful  of  lime  be  thrown  upon  a  tuft  of  rank, 
Four  grass,  which  has  in  former  years  been  invariably  refused 
by  cattle,  they  will  aft^rw^ards  eat  it  close  down.  Now,  ani- 
mal dung,  when  dropped  upon  coarse  benty  sward,  produces 
little  or  no  improvement  until  limed ;  it  then,  however,  not 
only  augments  the  crops,  but  the  finer  grasses  contmue  in 
possession  of  the  soil,  tnd  the  land  is  thus  doubly  benefited; 
for  the  dung  dropped  by  the  stock  on  which  it  is  pastured,  is 
both  increased  iii  quantity,  and  improved  in  quality,*     Farmers 

*Tn  Derbyshire  the  farmers  hitve  found  that,  by  spreading  lime  in  con- 
siderable qiiamities  upon  the  surface  of  their  heathy  moors,  after  a  few- 
times  the  heath  disappears,  and  the  whole  surface  becomes  covered  wrth  a 
fine  pile  of  grass,  consisting  of  white  clover  and  the  other  valuable  sorts  of 
pasture-grasses. 


92  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

should  never  consider  lime  as  the  food  or  nourishment  of 
plants,  but  as  an  alterative  of  the  soil;  never  to  be  used  but 
when  nature  requires  it,  either  to  dissolve  noxious  combina- 
tions, and  to  form  new  ones ;  to  bind  loose  soils,  or  to  diminish 
excessive  cohesion;  and  to  reduce  the  inactive  vegetable  libre 
into  a  fertile  mould.  For  such  purposes  there  is  not,  perhaps, 
a  more  valuable  article  in  the  whole  catalogue  of  agricultural 
remedies;  but  some  farmers,  who  do  not  reflect  upon  the 
subject,  when  they  perceive  that  lime  has  once  excited  the 
dormant  powers  of  the  soil  into  action,  and  that  good  crops 
succeed  for  a  few  years,  are  apt  to  draw  from  thence  very 
false  conclusions,  and  continue  liming  and  tilling  without  the 
assistance  of  putrescent  manure,  until  their  land  at  length  is 
rendered  incapable  of  the  production  of  corn.  It  has  indeed 
been  pertinently  observed  by  a  good  judge  of  such  matters, 
'that  there  is  an  analogy  between  the  treatment  suitable  to 
the  animal  and  vegetable  creation.  When  medicines  have 
removed  the  cause  of  their  application,  they  are  discontinued, 
and  the  patient,  rendered  weaker  by  the  application,  requires 
some  invigorating  aliment:  in  like  manner,  some  time  after 
an  effectual  liming,  the  soluble  carbon  of  the  rotten  dung,  or 
some  such  restorative,  should  be  applied  to  the  soil  to  replenish 
it  with  what  it  may  have  been  robbed  of  by  the  action  of  the 
lime.' 

In  fine,  lime  should  always  precede  putrescent  manures  when 
breaking  up  old  leys  for  cultivation,  for,  if  the  land  contains 
acids,  or  noxious  matter  that  is  poisonous  to  plants,  they  will 
be  decomposed  and  rendered  fit  for  vegetation;  and  hence  the 
superiority  of  lime  to  dung  on  new  lands.  But  calcareous  and 
putrescent  manures  operate  very  differently :  '  tlie  former  being 
more  stimulant  and  corrective,  help  the  farmer  to  an  abundant 
crop  at  the  expense  of  the  soil  alone;  while  the  latter  furnish 
the  land  at  once  with  fertilizing  fluids,  and  will  insure  a  good 
crop  on  a  place  perfectly  barren  before,  and  after  the  applica- 
tion of  lime.' 

Much  uncertainty  prevails  among  farmers  regarding  the 
state  of  lime:  some  contending  that  it  should  only  be  applied 
when  hot  and  powdered,  and  that  when  it  has  been  slaked,  its 
effect  is  comparatively  trifling;  others  maintain  the  contrary. 
But  these  disputants  consist  chiefly  of  men  whose  experience 
has  either  been  confined  to  one  kind  of  soil,  or  who  have  only 
used  it  under  particular  circumstances,  and  as  they  only  con- 
demn the  system  of  others  because  their  own  has  turned  out 


ON  MANURES.  93 

successful,  or  the  reverse,  it  is  not  improbable  that,  iii  the  view 
they  take  of  the  subject,  each  may  be  in  the  right.  It  will 
therefore  probably  be  found,  that  in  all  cases  where  the  land 
is  constitutionally  disposed  to  receive  benefit  from  a  calcareous 
dressing-,  that  is  to  say,  when  it  has  not  been  previously  limed, 
or  when  it  has  been  long  laid  down  and  refreshed  by  grass,  or 
enriched  by  the  application  of  dung,  it  is  of  little  importance 
whether  the  operation  take  place  when  the  lime  is  quick  or 
effete.  Upon  waste  lands,  however,  its  causticity  has  an 
evident  and  necessary  effect;  for  the  undecayed  vegetables, 
which  abound  in  all  soils  in  a  state  of  nature,  should  be 
speedily  decomposed,  and  it  should  therefore  be  spread  hot 
from  the  kiln.  In  point  of  economy,  too,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  it  is  most  thriftily  used  when  laid  upon  the 
land  in  the  latter  state :  for  the  labour  is  less ;  and  a  smaller 
quantity  will  serve  the  immediate  purpose.  It  is,  however, 
obvious  that  the  choice  of  circumstances  and  season  is  not 
always  in  the  farmer's  power;  and  that  necessity  often  obliges 
him  to  lay  it  on  when  completely  effete.  It  has  been  said, 
indeed,  upon  high  authority,  that  caustic  lime  exhausts  the 
land ;  but  repeated  trials  have  shown  that  its  ultimate  effects 
are  equally  beneficial  in  the  one  state  or  the  other,  though 
there  is  a  more  immediate  advantage  in  the  employment  of 
quicklime  by  the  destruction  of  weeds.  A  common  method 
is  to  leave  it  spread  during  some  months  upon  clover  or  sain- 
foin, not  intended  to  be  broken  up  until  the  following  year, — a 
plan  which  is  advisable  with  regard  to  marl,  which  partakes 
of  some  of  the  qualities  of  lime, -and  is  the  better  if  allowed  to 
remain  during  a  season  exposed  to  the  atmosphere;  but  the 
stimulating  properties  of  quicklime  will  be  thereby  lost,  as  it 
will  be  converted  into  mere  chalk.  Opinions  are  also  much 
divided  respecting  its  effects  when  laid  upon  pasture  land 
which  is  intended  to  be  kept  in  grass.  There  is  indeed  no 
question  that,  in  either  state,  if  applied  in  moderate  quantities 
to  a  dry  soil,  or  to  land  that  has  been  completely  drained,  such 
a  top-dressing  will  have  the  most  beneficial  effect  upon  the 
herbage ;  but  it  must  be  admitted,  that  when  laid  on  quick,  it 
requires  more  circumspection  in  its  application,  and  should  not 
be  employed  in  the  same  quantity  as  when  effete. 

We  learn,  from  the  General  Report  of  Scotland,  that  there, 
'in  the  best  cultivated  counties,  lime  is  now  most  generally 
laid  on  finely  pulverized  land,  while  under  a  fallow,  or  imme- 
diately after  being  sown  with  turnips.     In  the  latter  case,  the 


94  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

lime  is  uniformly  mild  :  in  the  former,  quicklime,  as  pernicious 
(in  a  certain  extent)  to  vegetation,  may  be  beneficial  in  de- 
stroying- weeds;  and  some  experiments  have  been  recorded, 
showing  it  to  have  a  very  powerfijl  effect  upon  the  fiy,  to 
which  we  shall  find  future  occasion  to  advert.  Sometimes 
mild  lime  is  applied  in  the  spring  to  land,  and  harrowed  in 
with  grass-seeds,  instead  of  being  covered  w^ith  the  plough ; 
and  under  this  management  a  minute  quantity  has  produced  a 
striking  and  permanent  improvement  in  some  of  the  hill-pas- 
tures of  the  south-eastern  counties.  Its  effects  are  yet  per- 
spicuous, atler  the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century.  In  some 
places  lime  is  spread  on  grass-land  a  year  or  more  before  it  is 
brought  under  the  plough,  by  which  the  pasture  in  the  first 
instance,  and  the  cultivated  crops  subsequently,  are  found  to 
be  greatly  benefited.  But  in  whatever  manner  this  powerfi.il 
stimulant  is  applied,  the  soil  should  never  be  afterwards  ex- 
hausted by  a  succession  of  gram-bearing  crops — a  justly 
exploded  practice,  which  has  reduced  some  naturally  fertile 
tracts  to  a  state  of  almost  irremediable  sterility.' 

To  point  out  the  precise  effects  of  lime,  and  the  proper 
quantity  to  be  applied,  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been 
already  ascertained,  would  greatly  exceed  the  limits  of  this 
publication;  and  w^ere  it  possible  to  define  its  powers  upon 
every  gradation  of  soil,  a  series  of  experiments  would  be  re- 
quired which  would  occupy  the  labour  of  a  long  life.  Its 
qualities,  too,  differ  materially  in  various  places,  from  the 
greater  or  less  quantities  of  extraneous  substances  with  which 
it  is  combined.  It  is  very  rarely  that  any  farmer  can  obtain 
a  choice  of  lime,  and  when  only  one  species  can  be  procured, 
he  must  be  content  with  it;  but  he  may,  nevertheless,  be 
benefited  by  the  following  observations: — 

Qualities  and  Quantity  of  Lime.  —  Pure  limestone,  or 
chalk,  when  fully  calcined,  is  reduced  to  a  fine  impalpable 
powder,  that  feels  soft  within  the  fingers,  without  the  smallest 
tendency  to  grittiness:  but  such  lime  as  contains  sand  is 
neither  so  sofl  nor  fine,  but  feels  more  or  less  gritty  in  propor- 
tion as  the  sand  is  coarser  or  finer,  and  more  or  less  in  propor- 
tion. Commonly,  the  whitest  lime  is  the  best;  when  perfectly 
calcined,  it  is  generally  of  a  bright  white,  without  any  shade 
of  colour,  and  if  clouded,  it  is  thought  to  proceed  from  a 
mixture  of  other  matter;  but  the  colour  is  not  an  infallible 
criterion,  for  dark-coloured  lime  has,  in  some  few  instances, 
been  found  stronger  than  that  which  was  perfectly  white.     The 


ON  MANURES.  95 

purer  and  the  stronger  the  lime  is,  the  lighter  also  it  will  be 
found  when  weighed.  Hence  it  follows,  that  the  best  lime 
for  the  farmer's  use  is  that  which  is  the  softest  to  the  touch, 
the  whitest,  and  the  lightest. 

The  other  simple  tests  for  ascertaining  its  quality,  which 
will  be  found  sufficient  to  decide  upon  the  comparative  value 
of  any  two  kinds  of  lime,  and  may  be  relied  upon  as  suffi- 
ciently accurate  for  the  common  purposes  of  tlie  farmer,  are 
as  follows: — If  the  limestone  loses  much  of  its  weight  in  cal- 
cination, and  the  lime-shells  are  extremely  light; — if  the 
shells  require  a  very  large  proportion  of  water  to  slake  them 
fully; — if  it  is  long  before  they  begin  to  fall; — if  tiie  limestone 
is  not  apt  to  run  (or  to  become  vitrified)  in  the  operation  of 
burning; — if  it  falls  entirely  when  it  gets  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  water,  after  it  has  been  properly  calcined; — if  it  swells  very 
nmch  in  slaking,  and  if  the  lime  is  light,  fine  to  the  touch,  and 
of  a  pure  white  —  he  may  be  satisfied  that  it  is  extremely 
good,  and  he  may  use  it  in  preference  to  other  lime  that  is 
inferior  to  it' in  any  of  these  respects.  The  presence  of  lime 
may  also  be  discovered  by  its  effervescence,  or  ebullition,  on 
being  exposed  to  common  vinegar. 

When  quicklime,  too,  is  completely  sifted  through  a  fine 
hair-cloth,  that  is  the  strongest  which  leaves  upon  the  cloth 
specifically  the  smallest  of  earthy  or  sandy  particles;  and  that, 
also,  of  which  the  smallest  quantity,  when  spread  upon  the 
same  space  of  ground  in  soils  of  equal  quality,  will  the  soonest 
burn  up  the  surface  of  the  grass.  We  may  also  add,  upon  the 
authority  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  that  lime,  when  slaked  with 
sea-water,  has  been  used  in  some  cases  with  considerably  more 
benefit  than  when  wetted  in  the  common  manner. 

The  benefit  which  might  be  derived  from  the  union  of  a 
slight  portion  of  chemical  skill  with  agricultural  knowledge 
is  perhaps  incalculable.  The  present  state  of  education  among 
the  generality  of  farmers  is  not  such,  however,  as  to  enable 
them  to  reap  much  advantage  from  scientific  experiments,  and 
even  chemists  rarely  have  opportunities  of  applying  their  art 
to  practical  purposes  of  this  kind.  It  may,  however,  prove 
useful  to  some  to  ofler  a  ^ew  brief  directions  for  the  analysis 
of  lime,  which  we  extract  from  the  recent  work  of  Dr.  Henry: 

'To  determine  the  purity  of  lime,  let  a  given  wei?lit  be  dissolved  in  di- 
luted muriatic  acid.  Let  a  little  excess  of  acid  be  added,  that  no  portion  may 
reniHin  undissolved,  owing  to  the  deficiency  of  the  solvent.  Dilate  with  dis- 
tilled water  ;  let  the  insoluble  part,  if  any,  suttside,  and  the  clear  liquor  be 
decanted.  Wash  the  sediment  with  further  portions  of  water,  and  pour  it 
I  2 


96  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

upon  a  filter,  previously  weighed.  Dry  the  filter,  and  ascertain  its  increase 
of  weij^'ht,  which  will  indicate  how  much  insoluble  matter  the  quantity  of 
lime  submitted  to  experiment  contained.  It  is  easy  to  judge  by  the  exter- 
nal quulhies  of  the  insoluble  portion,  whether  argillaceous  earth  abounds  in 
its  composition.' 

The  presence  o^ magnesia  in  limestone  has  been  considered 
pernicious  to  vegetation  when  burnt  into  lime.  It  had  been 
long-  known  to  farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Doncaster,  and 
other  parts  of  Yorkshire,  Derby,  and  Nottingham,  that  lime 
made  from  a  peculiar  species  of  limestone  injured  their  crops; 
and  that  made  from  the  Breedon  limestone,  in  Leicestershire, 
which  there  goes  under  the  denomination  of  '  hot  lime,'  is  so 
powerful,  that  it  is  there  seldom  used  in  larger  quantities  than 
from  25  to  30  bushels  an  acre,  unless  the  land  be  very  rich. 
A  series  of  experiments  were  made  upon  the  former  by  Mr. 
Tennant,  who  discovered  that  it  contained  magnesia,  and  on 
mixing  some  calcined  pure  magnesia  with  earth,  in  which  he 
sowed  different  kinds  of  seeds,  he  found  that  they  either  died 
or  vegetated  very  imperfectly;  he  therefore  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  its  effects  were  prejudicial.  This  is  thought  to 
have  been  occasioned  by  its  retaining  its  caustic  quality  longer 
than  pure  lime ;  and  that,  if  used  to  excess,  it  has  a  poisonous 
effect  on  vegetables,  though,  'on  poor  soils,'  it  has  been  said 
*  neither  to  receive  water  so  rapidly,  nor  to  part  with  it  so 
freely,  as  lime;  and  in  this  respect  it  seems  to  hold  an  inter- 
mediate property  between  lime  and  clay.'  Experiments  have 
also  been  made  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy  and  other  chemists, 
from  which  it  may  be  collected  that,  although,  when  calcined, 
as  lime,  it  may  become  pernicious  to  land,  if  laid  on  in  too 
large  quantities,  yet  that,  in  its  mild  state,  it  is  a  useful  con- 
stituent of  soils.  One  of  the  most  fertile  parts  of  Cornwall,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Lizard,  is  a  di.^^trict  in  which  the  land 
abounds  in  magnesian  earth.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  mildest 
absorbents  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  and  upon  ground 
which  is  infested  with  sorrel,  its  application  is  an  immediate 
remedy.  Magnesian  limestone  is  usually  of  a  pale  yellow  or 
brown  colour,  and  is  found  in  many  parts  of  England,  as  well 
as  Ireland ;  it  effervesces  when  plunged  in  acid,  though  it  only 
dissolves  slowly. 

Its  analysis  requires  a  process  too  tedious  to  be  here  stated, 
but  its  existence  in  lime,  in  a  pure  state,  may  be  ascertained 
by  the  following  test: — 

Having  taken  out  all  the  mineral  oxide,  next  pour  into  the  fluid  a  solution 
of  neutralized  carbonate  of  potassa,  continuing  to  do  so  until  it  will  effer- 


ON  MANURES.  97 

vesce  no  longer,  and  till  both  the  taste  and  smell  of  the  mixture  indicate  an 
excess  of  alkaline  salt.  The  precipitate  that  falls  down  is  carbonate  of 
lime  :  it  must  be  collected  on  the  filter,  and  dried  at  a  heat  below  that  of 
redness. 

The  remaining  fluid  must  be  then  boiled  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when 
the  magnesia,  if  any  exist,  will  be  throw  n  down  combined  with  carbonic  acid . 

The  quantity  of  lime  to  be  applied  to  the  land  must  of 
course  be  apportioned  to  the  quality  of  the  former,  as  well  as 
to  the  nature  and  the  condition  of  the  soil  which  considera- 
tions must  also  be  in  a  great  degree  governed  by  the  expense. 
There  is  perhaps  no  country  where  it  has  been  used  to  such 
an  extent  as  in  the  improved  parts  of  Scotland,  where  it  is 
often  carried  to  the  distance  of  twenty  to  thirty  miles,  after 
having  been  imported  from  distant  points  of  the  coast,  and  even 
from  Ireland ;  and  although  it  has  been  laid  on  at  prices  vary- 
ing in  proportion  to  its  strength,  and  the  charge  of  burning, 
from  6s.  to  18s.  per  chaldron  of  36  bushels,  besides  the  cost  of 
carriage,  and  in  quantities  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
yet  the  improvement  has,  in  most  places  of  its  first  application, 
borne  out  the  charge.*  In  Ireland,  Chief  Baron  Foster  has 
gone  so  far  as  300  barrels,  with  manifest  good  effect.  It  is  in 
that  country,  indeed,  not  uncommonly  applied  at  the  rate  of 
400  bushels  per  imperial  acre ;  and  immense  crops  of  potatoes 
have  been  raised  by  its  being  laid  upon  strong  old  leys,  broken 
up  in  July  or  August,  and  allowed  to  remain  in  that  state  until 
ploughed  again  in  the  spring.  It  has  been  laid  on  some  of  the 
moors  in  Derbyshire  to  the  amount  of  1500  bushels.  Dr.  An- 
derson says  that  'he  has  himself  had  experience  of  it  in  all 
proportions,  from  100  to  above  700  bushels  to  the  acre,  upon  a 
great  variety  of  soils ;  and  that  he  always  found  its  effect  in 
promoting  the  fertility  of  the  soil  to  have  been  in  proportion  to 
the  quantity  employed,  other  circumstances  being  alike ;  yet 
an  instance  is  mentioned,  in  the  Nottingham  Report,  of  twenty 
chaldrons,  or  720  bushels,  having  been  laid  upon  an  acre  of 
cold  clay  soil,  without  any  benefit  whatever.  Experiments 
have  also  been  tried  of  its  application  on  heavy  land,  extremely 

*In  Scotland  it  appears  that  192  bushels  of  lime-shells  per  Scotch  acre 
(equal  to  153  per  imperial  acre)  have  been  applied  with  success  on  light  sofl 
land.  From  240  to  360  are  however  generally  esteemed  proper  for  different 
degrees  of  clay.  From  thai  quantity  up  to  6(J0  bushels  have  been  laid  with 
good  effect  on  strong  land,  both  arable  and  under  grass  ;  but  it  seems  gene- 
rally asrreed,  that  from  300  to  4^0  bushels  are  quite  sufficient  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  most  fertile  districts  in  that  country  ;  and  light  soils,  whii  h 
require  less  in  the  first  instance,  are  said  to  have  been  greatly  benefited  by 
a  frequent  repetition, 

9 


98  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

retentive  of  moisture,  to  the  extent  of  300,  450,  and  550 
bushels,  which,  after  eight  successive  years,  showed  no  per- 
ceptible difference  arising-  from  the  quantity  laid  on,  and  simi- 
lar instances  are  too  numerous  to  require  mention  ;  but  these 
failures  may,  not  improbably,  have  been  occasioned  by  the  im- 
perfect state  of  the  drainage.  Lime  has,  however,  been  on  so 
many  occasions  used  at  random,  without  inquiry  being  made 
or  attention  paid  to  the  state  of  the  land, — whether  it  has  been 
over-cropped  and  worn  out,  or  has  been  left  under  pasture  and 
enriched  by  dung, — that,  without  regard  to  these  particulars, 
jnuch  money  has  been  uselessly  expended,  and  many  attempts 
at  improvement  have  been  rendered  unsuccessful.  A  system 
also  prevails  in  the  cultivation  of  many  estates  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  under  which  the  tenants  are  bound  by  their 
leases  to  fallow  the  land  at  fixed  periods,  and  to  dress  the 
fallows  with  a  certain  quantity  of  lime ;  which  being  thus 
repeated  when  the  condition  of  the  ground  does  not  always 
require  it,  it  necessarily  follows  that  no  beneficial  result  can 
be  attained. 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  variety  of  soils  and  circumstances,  that 
no  general  rule  can  be  devised  for  fixing  the  quantity  of  lime 
that  may  be  properly  laid  upon  an  acre  of  land.  The  various 
accounts  from  the  different  county  surveys,  and  other  sources 
of  information,  state  that  from  80  to  180  bushels  have  been 
laid  upon  light  soils  with  very  palpable  benefit,  and  that  from 
240  to  320  and  even  400  bushels  have  been  successfully  applied 
to  clays  and  strong  grass  land.  It  has,  indeed,  been  found, 
that  in  maiden  soils  its  use  is  so  essential,  on  its  first  applica- 
tion, as  to  impart  a  permanent  degree  of  fertility  which  could 
not  be  obtained  by  any  other  species  of  manure.  In  some 
parts  of  Scotland,  which  have  been  only  of  late  years  brought 
under  an  improved  course  of  culture,  and  to  which  lime  had 
not  been  previously  applied,  it  was  observed  that  the  richest 
animal  dung  had  but  a  weak  effect  upon  the  crops  of  grain. 
Peas,  barley,  and  wheat,  at  first  assumed  the  most  promising 
appearance,  but  when  the  peas  were  in  bloom,  and  the  corn 
putting  forth  the  ear,  it  was  found  that  they  had  dwindled 
away  in  nearly  fruitless  abortion, — which,  indeed,  so  far  as  the 
peas  are  concerned,  ought  not  to  excite  surprise,  tor  it  is  well 
known  that  they  will  not  tiirive  in  any  soil  wliich  is  not  cal- 
careous; yet  the  same  ground,  after  getting  a  slight  dressing 
of  lime,  brought  any  kind  of  crop,  that  was  adapted  to  the 


ON  MANURES.  99 

land  and  properly  tilled,  to  full  maturity.*  Experience, 
indeed,  proves  that  a  certain  portion  of  lime  is  necessary  to 
bring  all  soils  into  a  due  state  of  fertility ;  but  when  they  are 
once  saturated  with  lime,  or  have  got  a  suificient  quantity, 
whatever  more  is  added  only  occasions  useless  expense.  Many 
farmers  have  also  learned,  to  their  cost,  that  land  which  has 
received  a  complete  liming  should  be  either  rested  from  severe 
cropping,  or,  after  some  short  time,  laid  down  to  pasture. 
This,  however,  being  not  always  convenient,  the  alternate 
system  of  husbandry  should  be  adopted,  even  with  the  addition 
of  a  second  year  under  clover,  if  the  laiid  be  poor,  and  the 
green  crops  expended  on  the  ground ;  and  in  no  case  should 
the  soil  be  deprived  of  the  usual  dressings  of  dung. 

In  whatever  quantity  it  may  be  employed,  it  is  indispensable 
that  every  particle  of  lime  bo  intimately  blended  with  the  soil; 
for  if  that  condition  be  not  complied  with,  its  power  upon  the 
land  will  be  so  tar  lost  as  that  ©iteration  may  have  been 
ineffectually  performed.  Although  specifically  lighter  than 
any  soil,  it  is,  however,  very  conunonly  left  in  small  lumps, 
which  then  fall  into  the  bottom  of  the  open  furrow  when  the 
land  is  ploughed,  and  there  remaining  below  the  staple  of  the 
land,  it  naturally  becomes  useless  for  the  purposes  of  the  far- 
mer :  the  operation,  therefore,  demands  the  piost  minute  atten- 
tion. When  the  lime,  which  may  have  been  spread  upon  the 
ground,  has  been  either  already  ploughed  under,  or  only  har- 
rowed in,  or  both,  it  should  be  again  harrowed  and  afterwards 
ploughed  in.  This  must,  however,  be  done  as  superficially  as 
possible,  in  order  to  avoid  burying  the  lime :  and  perhaps  the 
best  implement  for  that  purpose  is  a  scarifier,  or  one  of  the 
many  scufflers  now  in  use,  as  they  mix  the  lime  with  the  soil 
more  etfectually  than  can  be  done  by  the  plough.  The  land 
must  then  be  again  harrowed  and  ploughed  ;  but  still  not  to  a 
2:reat  depth ;  and  in  this  manner  it  should  get  at  least  three 
ploughings  and  harrowings,  if  the  soil  be  light,  and  four,  or 
even  five,  according  to  the  condition  of  the  land,  if  it  should 
be  heavy :  but,  we  repeat,  that  in  no  case  should  the  lime  be 
sufiered  to  sink  deep  into  the  ground.     We  have,  indeed,  cm 

*  It  has  been  stated,  in  the  General  Report  of  Scotland,  that  soils  of  tolera- 
ble (luality,  in  Laminerinuir,  only  produce  middling  crops  of  oats  and  rye, 
and  that  the  richest  dun<;  does  not  enable  them  to  bring  any  other  grain  to 
maturity  ;  yet  the  same  soils,  after  being  limed  well,  under  proper  culture, 
ripen  every  species  of  corn.  The  same  efllct  is  stated  to  have  occTirred  on 
the  Mendip  hills,  in  Somersetshire,  in  Hereford,  and  Derbyshire,  and  vari- 
ous other  counties. 


100  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

this,  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Dawson,  of  Frogden,  which,  after  the 
experience  of  upwards  of  half  a  century,  is  too  well  known  and 
too  highly  appreciated  to  admit  of  doubt,  that  in  every  instance, 
uj)on  his  own  land,  in  which  lime  was  only  harrowed  in,  when 
laid  up  for  pasture,  the  ground  not  only  continued,  for  upwards 
of  thirty  years,  to  produce  the  fine  g'rasses,  but,  when  ploughed 
down,  those  parts  of  the  soil  which  were  not  sufficiently  mixed 
with  lime,  thoug-h  sown  with  clover,  became  gradually  covered 
with  bent;  and  he  also  adds  his  testimony,  that,  when  properly 
mixed  with  lime,  the  effects  of  dung  are  not  only  greater,  but 
much  more  permanent,  whether  under  tillage  or  pasture.  It 
should,  however,  be  observed,  that  the  depth  of  the  ploughing 
may  also  be  made  to  depend,  in  a  great  degree,  upon  the 
quantity  of  lime  that  is  used  as  well  as  upon  the  state  of  the 
soil ;  for  not  only  is  a  less  portion  of  calcareous  manure  requi- 
site upon  sands  than  upon  clays,  bat  as  it  sooner  sinks  into  the 
former  than  into  the  latter,  and  the  object  is  to  keep  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  mixed  with  the  surface,  it  cannot,  in  that  case, 
be  ploughed  with  too  shallow  a  furrow. 

This  renders  a  clear  and  well-wrought -fallow  absolutely 
necessary ;  but  in  this  manner,  if  the  lime  be  laid  in  the  full 
quantity  upon  the  proper  soil,  and  if  the  fi.iture  cultivation  and 
manuring  with  putrescent  matter  be  in  all  respects  carefully 
conducted,  it  will  produce  the  expected  effect  upon  the  land, 
the  amelioration  of  which  will  last  for  a  long  series  of  years. 
This  mode  of  application  is  approved  by  the  most  enlightened 
farmers;  yet  there  are  many  who  affirm  that  grass-land  forms 
the  best  bed  for  the  reception  of  lime.  When  grass-land  is 
broken  up,  it  is,  however,  very  generally  full  of  weeds,  which 
nothing  but  a  complete  summer  fallow  can  thoroughly  con- 
quer ;  but  if  the  land  be  clean,  and  the  lime  can  be  got  for- 
ward in  time,  the  application  may  in  many  cases  prove  suc- 
cessful. 

Tiie  application  of  lime  to  grass-land  one  or  two  years  before 
it  is  broken  up,  as  inculcated  by  several  writers  upon  hus- 
bandry, is  neither  necessary  to  the  soil,  nor  reconcilable  with 
economy:  as,  in  case  of  any  declivity  in  the  ground,  much  of 
tiie  lime  is  washed  off  the  surface  by  the  rains,  and  lost  before 
the  land  can  be  ploughed. 

On  the  best  consideration  which  we  can  apply  to  this  im- 
portant subject,  we  should  say — Let  the  farmer,  as  a  primary 
ground  for  determination,  well  weigh  the  nature  and  the  condi- 
tion of  liis  land,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  cost,  previous  to  the 


ON  MANURES.  1£)1 

application  of  a  dressing-  of  lime.  If  it  is  to  be  broken  up  from 
grass  which  lias  lain  long  in  pasture,  and  without  having  been 
previously  limed,  and  that  he  can  afford  the  expense,  let  him 
lay  on  a  round  quantity  at  once ;  for  if  it  be  intended  as  a 
permanent  alterative — a  corrective  and  amendment  of  the  pro- 
perties of  the  soil, — it  should  get  a  full  dose,  and  any  thing- 
sJjort  of  that  will  be  found  little  better  than  money  thrown 
away.  But  if  it  is  to  be  applied  to  ground  that  has  been  under 
tillage,  and  upon  which  lime  lias  been  previously  laid,  it  can 
tlien  only  be  used  with  advantage  after  a  series  of  years 
have  elapsed,  and  in  small  quantities ;  upon  land  also  which 
has  been  kept  under  a  proper  rotation  of  husbandry,  and  has 
been  regularly  manured  with  stable-dung,  bones,  rape-dust, 
or  other  nutritious  substances,  upon  which  it  may  exert  itself, 
as  it  will  merely  give  increased  effect  to  the  riches  which 
may  have  been  thus  added  to  the  soil  by  superior  manage- 
ment. In  such  cases,  however,  it  may  be  usefully  employed 
after  every  second  or  third  dunging ;  for  v^'hether  it  be  owing 
to  an  imperfect  fermentation,  or  to  whatever  cause,  it  is 
certain  that  a  portion  of  all  the  dung  which  is  laid  upon 
ground  remains  nearly  in  a  dormant  state  until  forced  into 
activity  by  the  application  of  some  alkaline  or  calcareous 
'matter. 

On  all  land  it  decomposes  nutritive  matter,  which  may  be 
supposed  to  lie  otherwise  in  an  inert  or  apparently  insoluble 
state:  it  is  advantageous  on  sands,  because,  so  long  as  it 
remains  well  mixed  with  the  soil,  it  attracts  moisture  from  the 
air,  which  prevents  them  from  burning;  and  if  applied  to 
clays,  or  other  deep  soils  on  which  no  calcareous  manure  has 
been  previously  laid,  it  renders  them  less  cohesive,  and  more 
easily  penetrable  by  vegetable  fibres.  On  calcareous  soils  it 
necessarily  has  but  little  effect,  because  it  there  already  forms 
a  part  of  the  matter  of  which  they  are  composed ;  but  when 
laid  on  grass-land  as  a  top-dressing,  it  has  greatly  improved 
every  species  of  soil,  and  has  promoted  the  growth  of  the  finer 
grasses;  thus  adding  to  the  luxuriance  of  the  herbage,  and 
augmenting  the  productive  powers  of  the  soil  when  afterwards 
ploughed   for  grain.*     As  lime,   however, — notwithstanding 

*  Calcareous  soils  have  also  been  found  to  possess  the  advantage  of  guard- 
ing the  sheep  which  graze  upon  them  from  the  rot ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  application  of  lime,  if  accompanied  by  proper  drainage,  will 
materially  assist  in  producing'  properties  of  corresponding  efficacy.  It  is 
likewise  known  to  be  a  great  preventive,  when  laid  upon  pasture-land,  of 
that  destructive  disease,  the  foot-rot. 

9* 


102  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  fact  wliich  has  just  been  recorded  regarding  the  similarity 
of  its  effects, — whether  mild  or  quick — yet  differs  materially 
in  its  strength,  inquiry  should  always  be  made  on  that  point 
previous  to  its  application.  The  following  general  rules  may 
be  taken  as  a  summary  of  what  has  been  already  stated. 

1st.  Before  the  application  of  lime,  the  land  should  be 
thoroughly  drained  and  laid  dry.  2dly.  It  may  be  carried 
on  whenever  the  teams  are  the  most  at  leisure;  but  summer 
is  the  best  season,  and  it  never  should  be  laid  upon  the  land 
unless  in  dry  weather.  3dly.  It  should  be  laid  on-while  in 
a  powdery  state — the  drier  the  better — and  kept  as  near  the 
surface  as  possible,  as  then  best  adapted  to  mix  intimately 
with  the  soil.  4thly.  It  may  be  applied  either  quick  or  effete; 
but  if  in  the  former  state,  it  will  have  more  effect  in  the 
cleansing  of  the  land,  and  a  less  quantity  will  serve  the 
immediate  purpose.  It  should,  however,  be  carted  upon  the 
land  as  soon  as  possible,  and  spread  directly  before  the 
plough,  letting  that  follow  so  quickly,  as  that  the  body  of 
the  lime  shall  be  slaked  in  the  soil;  and  it  must  be  cau- 
tiously applied  to  light  soils.  5thly.  As  it  has  a  tendency 
to  sink  into  the  ground,  and  it  is  important  to  preserve  it 
near  the  surface,  it  should  be  ploughed  with  a  shallow 
furrow.  6thly,  When  found,  after  a  few  years,  in  lumps, 
and  much  below  the  surface  of  the  land,  it  should  be 
ploughed  up  and  repeatly  harrowed,  so  as  to  insure  its.  inter- 
mixture. Tthly.  Clays  and  strong  loams  require  a  full  dose; 
but  for  sands  and  other  light  soils,  chalk,  or  a  much  less  quan- 
tity of  lime,  will  serve — each  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of 
the  lime  and  of  the  land.  8thly,  If  the  land  be  not  supplied 
with  the  same  quantity  of  putrescent  manure  that  is  usually 
laid  upon  other  soils,  the  crops  will  suffer;  and  if  it  be  not 
then  laid  down  to  grass  for  a  long  series  of  years,  it  will  be 
worn  out  and  exhausted.  («) 

Lime-kilns. — Lime  may  be  burnt  without  building  a  kiln, 
as  follows:  The  site  on  which  this  substitute  for  a  regular 
kiln  is  to  be  formed,  should  be  circular — say  five  or  six  yards 
in  diameter:  the  soil  should  be  dug  up  from  off  the  subsoil; 
and  then  the  operation  of  burning  is  to  be  performed  in  the  fol- 

(n)  [The  ordinary  trap  rocK,  wliich  abounds  in  parts  of  this  country,  if  re- 
duced to  powder,  is  a  valuable  manure,  used  as  a  top-dressing  for  crass.  It 
shovild  be  applied  in  the  proportion  of  one  ton  per  acre,  with  about  ten  tons 
of  (lunfi.  If  applied  in  the  state  of  very  fine  powder,  it  is  supposed  that  live 
cwt.  per  acre  would  be  sufficient.  Of  this  last  statement  we  give  no  opinion. 
The  experiment  is  worthy  of  trial  ] 


ON  MANURES.  103 

lowing  manner: — In  the  bottom  of  the  pit  lay  a  large  quantity 
of  furze,  heath,  or  ling,  upon  which  place  about  two  feet  in 
thickness  of  the  parings,  in  the  centre  of  which  begin  to  form 
a  funnel,  or  flue,  of  furze,  encircled  by  peats,  and  around  this 
lay  about  6  or  8  inches  deep  of  limestone,  broken  in  small 
pieces.  Then  carry  the  flue  up  a  couple  of  feet  higher  than 
the  limestone,  adding  afterwards  another  layer  of  furze  and 
parings  about  one  foot  deep,  and  then  limestone,  layer  after 
layer  of  each,  but  still  continuing  the  funnel;  observing,  how- 
ever, that  the  circumference  of  each  layer  is  to  be  lessened, 
until  the  wdiole  assumes  the  form  of  a  cone,  or  sugar-loaf,  with 
the  flue  for  its  apex,  or  point.  When  this  is  done,  brushwood, 
furze,  heath,  or  any  combustible  matter,  must  be  piled  around, 
with  peats  to  keep  all  together;  and  if  the  soil  contain  clay, 
clods  may  be  added.  Then  set  fire  to  the  furze  at  the  top  or 
point  of  the  flue,  and  the  whole  heap  will  burn  down  to  the 
bottom  with  such  effect,  that  within  twenty-four  hours  the 
limestone  will  be  completely  calcined.  If  clay  be  added,  it 
will  also  become  sufficiently  hardened  to  be  easily  reduced  to 
pow^der,  in  which  state,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  it  may  be 
converted  to  valuable  manure;  and  the  ashes  may  also  be  used 
as  a  dressing.  This  method  of  burning  lime  has  also  the  fur- 
ther advantage,  that  these  pits  may  be  dug  on  every  part  of 
the  land  where  it  may  be  wanted,  as  they  may  be  filled  up 
with  the  soil  previously  taken  out  of  them;  or  if  it  be  also  an 
object  to  burn  clay,  the  operation  can  be  performed  at  the  same 
time,  and  a  great  portion  of  the  expense  may  thus  be  saved. 

Compost. — Independently  of  the  mixture  of  lime  with  the 
soil  in  the  manner  already  stated,  great  advantage  may  also 
be  gained  by  making  a  compost  of  lime  and  earth,  which  has 
been  found  to  possess  more  fertilizing  properties  than  when  it 
has  been  laid  naked  upon  the  land ;  and  a  far  less  quantity  is 
found  to  answer  the  purpose.  The  great  objection  raised  by 
most  farmers  is  the  heavy  expense  of  labour,  and  also  cartage, 
which  is,  in  many  situations,  so  great  as  to  prevent  the  opera- 
tion. It  should,  however,  be  observed  that  the  compost  is,  in 
many  cases,  chiefly  composed  of  the  scourings  of  ditches,  and 
of  pond-mud,  in  which  instances  the  charge  of  labour  mu?t 
necessarily  be  incurred,  and  a  great  portion  of  the  cost  is  thus 
saved.  Another  mode  of  reducing  the  expense  is  also  to 
plough  up  the  headlands  of  fields  in  which  the  compost  is 
intended  to  be  laid.  This  is  effected  by  ploughing  the  land 
as  deeply  as  it  will  admit;  and  if  the  subsoil  be  not  of  such  a 


104  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

quality  as  to  occasion  sterility,  this  mixture  of  fresh  earth 
along-  with  the  surface-soil  and  lime  will  prove  highly  advan- 
tageous. Virgin  earth,  indeed,  if  not  in  itself  a  manure, 
readily  unites  with  lime,  and  richer  composts  are  thus  made 
tlian  with  earth  taken  from  the  surface :  the  expense,  too,  is 
less,  for  a  smaller  quantity  of  lime  can  be  made  to  answer  the 
purpose.  The  lime  should  then  be  laid  on  in  the  state  of  shells, 
before  it  is  slaked,  and  ploughed  well  in,  to  insure  its  complete 
combination ;  the  loose  earth  which  escapes  from  the  side 
furrows  should  then  be  shovelled  up  and  thrown  over  the  heap, 
after  which  a  fermentation  takes  place  within  a  very  short 
time,  if  the  weather  be  damp  and  warm,  and  the  compost 
should  be  immediately  laid  upon  the  land,  in  quantity  accord- 
ing to  the  quality  of  the  soil  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 
From  40  to  50  double  cart-loads  have  been  found  a  full  dose 
to  ordinary  land,  of  which  only  one-seventii  part  of  the  com- 
post was  quicklime,  which  was  considered  equal  in  force  to 
one-third  of  that  which  had  been  slaked.  Nothing,  however, 
can  be  more  uncertain  than  the  quantity  of  lime  required,  for 
it  depends  both  upon  the  quality  of  the  lime  and  of  the  earth 
with  which  it  is  to  be  mixed,  as  well  as  the  state  of  the 
weather;  but,  from  trials  which  have  been  frequently  made, 
it  would  seem  that  two  bushels  of  lime-shells  will  be  sufficient 
for  a  cubic  yard  of  earth  of  average  quality ;  and  64  cubical 
yards  of  the  compost — when  properly  prepared  and  applied  to 
the  soil — may  be  deemed  a  moderate  dose  for  an  acre  of  land; 
indeed,  40  have  been  considered  a  good  dressing  for  light 
land,  though  more  might  unquestionably  be,  in  most  cases, 
laid  on  with  better  effect.*  A  dressing  of  this  kind  has  been 
frequently  found  more  effectual  than  one  of  farm-yard  dung. 

We  cannot  close  this  chapter  without  also  adverting  to  the 
very  just  opinion  generally  entertained,  that  ^ soils  ought  to 
be  crossed ;'  or,  in  other  words,  that  composts,  of  which  clay  is 
the  basis,  should  be  administered  to  light  soils ;  and  the  reverse. 
The  expense  is,  however,  in  most  cases,  so  enormous,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  vast  quantity  which  must  be  laid  on  to  produce 
any  sensible  effect,  as  seldom  to  leave  any  profitable  result. 

*  'If  80  cubic  yards  are  considered  to  be  a  pood  medium  dressins;  for  a 
Scotch,  or  64  for  an  English  acre,  160  bushels  of  lime-shells  will  be  sufficient. 
Now,  the  length  of  a  head-ridpe  opposite  to  four  ridges  of  18  feet  is  72  feet, 
and  its  breadth  18  feet.  If  this  space  be  ploughed  10  inches  deep,  it  will 
produce  40  cubic  j-ards  of  earth  at  each  end  of  the  ridges;  while  the  whole 
work  may  be  executed  by  horse-labour.' 


ON  MANURES.  IO5 

When  the  earth  which  is  required  to  be  added  is  to  be  found 
in  the  subsoil,  then,  indeed,  if  it  be  not  at  too  great  a  depth,  it 
may  perhaps  be  dug,  at  those  seasons  in  which  labour  is  cheap, 
at  a  moderate  expense ;  but  those  instances  are  rare,  and  the 
charge  of  cartage  from  a  distance  must  prevent  it  from  being 
undertaken  by  any  man,  although  the  owner  of  the  land,  who 
is  not  possessed  of  large  disposable  capital,  or  by  any  tenant 
who  cannot  secure  the  return  of  the  outlay  within  the  currency 
of  his  lease.  Composts,  however,  may  be  very  advantageously 
formed  in  the  manner  we  have  stated — by  a  mixture  of  lime 
with  the  earth  on  which  it  is  to  be  laid. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MINERAL    MANURES    CONTINUED. MARL. 

Marl  is  a  compound  calcareous  earth  found  in  most  parts 
of  the  world,  and  has  been  extensively  used  throughout  this 
kingdom,  where  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  known  to  hus- 
bandmen at  a  very  early  period  of  our  history.  There  are, 
indeed,  leases  on  record,  granted  in  the  reigns  of  Edward  I. 
and  II.,  which  compel  the  tenants  to  make  use  of  it;  but, 
though  still  employed,  it  has  been  in  a  great  degree  super- 
seded by  the  more  recent  introduction  of  lime,  of  the  pro- 
perties of  which  it  in  some  measure  partakes.  The  term 
denoting  it  was  formerly  used  in  a  very  vague  sense,  for  it  is 
a  substance  consisting  of  various  materials,  and  it  has  conse- 
quently happened,  that  what  has  been  supposed  to  apply  to 
one  species,  did  not  hold  good  when  affirmed  of  another. 
Although  principally  deemed  valuable  on  account  of  the  calca- 
reous matter  which  it  usually  contains,  still  its  composition 
differs  so  essentially,  that  its  influence  as  manure  is  but  im- 
perfectly understood ;  yet  theoretic  writings  abound  in  gene- 
ral directions  for  its  use,  which  are  frequently  found  not  to  ' 
answer  in  practice,  for  their  rules  are  drawn  either  from  state- 
ments which  have  been  made  of  the  effect  of  its  application  on 
particular  soils,  or  from  analysis  of  its  qualities,  which,  as 
these  vary  in  innumerable  instances,  frequently  lead  farmers 
astray.     Its  real  value   can,  therefore,   be   only  ascertained 


106  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

through  the  practical  experience  of  those  who  have  either 
actually  tried  its  efficacy,  or  who  have  witnessed  it  in  their 
own  neighbourhood. 

This  ignorance  of  the  distinguishing  properties  of  marl  has 
necessarily  led  to  many  mistakes  in  its  application,  which 
have  occasioned  the  variety  of  opinions  that  are  entertained 
regarding  its  use.  In  most  places  where  it  was  anciently 
employed,  and  where  its  fertilizing  influence  was  discovered 
to  be  eminently  great,  it  was  thought  by  many  farmers  that  it 
could  be  made  to  supersede  the  use  of  dung;  they,  therefore, 
in  many  instances,  sold  their  hay  and  straw,  and  although, 
notwithstanding  this  reduction  of  the  quantity  of  putrescent 
manure,  they  still  for  a  time  obtained  large  crops,  yet,  eventu- 
'  ally,  the  chemical  eflfects  of  the  marl  exhausted  the  land.  No 
second  marling  could  operate  upon  it  until  it  had  been  reno- 
vated by  repeated  applications  of  dung ;  and  thus  has  arisen 
the  old  saying,  cited  by  Barnaby  Googe,  who  wrote  so  long  ago 
as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  that  'lime  and  marl 
are  good  for  the  father^  but  had  for  the  son.''  In  this  man- 
ner, also,  some  valuable  discoveries  in  agriculture  have  fallen 
into  disuse  through  their  mistaken  application,  when  governed 
by  local  circumstances  which  were  ill  understood ;  but  wher- 
ever marl  of  a  kind  adapted  to  the  soil  has  been  applied,  and 
that  a  judicious  system  of  culture  has  been  pursued,  without 
either  over-cropping,  or  neglecting  the  use  of  putrescent  ma- 
nure, the  proverb  is  so  far  from  being  well  founded,  that  the 
contrary  may  be  safely  affirmed. 

The  common  definition  of  marl  given  us  by  the  best  writers 
on  fossils,  is, — that  it  is  composed  of  clay,  sand,  and  lime,  very 
intimately,  but  unequally  mixed,  slightly  coherent,  not  ductile, 
but  stiflf,  or  viscid,  when  moist;  most  easily  diffiisible  in,  and 
disunited  by,  water,  or  even  by  exposure  to  the  air,  and  by  it 
reduced  to  a  soft,  loose,  incohesive  mass — for  the  most  part 
competed  of  nothing  more  than  calcareous  earth — in  which  its 
chief  value  consists — combined  with  a  little  mineral  oil,  clay, 
and  sometimes  with  ochre,  or  iron.  It  is  also  generally  con- 
sidered as  a  characteristic  of  marl,  that  it  effervesces  with 
acids,  though  to  that  various  exceptions  have  been  discovered ; 
from  which  it  has  been  supposed  that,  wlien  deprived  of  that 
test,  it  contains  no  calcareous  matter,  yet  it  is  found  to  pro- 
duce ameliorating   effects  upon   the   soil.*     Notwithstanding 

♦A  bluish  marl  much  used  in  some  parts  of  Ireland,  and  long  celebrated 


ON  MANURES.  107 

this  summary  description,  its  appearance  is,  however,  as 
varied  as  its  properties,  being  of  colour  nearly  pure  white,  to 
the  darkest  shades  of  brown  and  red,  interveined  with  blue 
and  yellow.  It  also  exists  in  different  kinds  of  land,  is  seldom 
found  as  a  stratum  of  much  length,  but  generally  in  detached 
masses  at  various  depths,  sometimes  in  wide  and  dense  per- 
pendicular layers,  at  others  in  streaks,  running  in  lines  pa- 
rallel with  the  horizon,  or  again  intersecting  each  other  at 
right  angles,  usually  resting  on  sand  or  gravel,  and  is  classed, 
according  to  its  qualities,  into  the  following  distinct  species: 

1.  Clayey  marl,  which  improves  sandy  land,  and  seems  to  act 
as  clay  in  changing  the  nature  of  the  soil.  In  land  consisting 
of  a  mixture  of  sand  and  loam,  or  of  sand  and  gravel,  then,  the 
application  of  this  marl  has  been  found  peculiarly  advanta- 
geous: and  on  all  poor  and  thin  sandy  soils  there  is  this 
further  advantage  in  its  use — that,  from  the  large  proportion 
of  clay  which  it  usually  contains,  it  adds  to  their  bulk  and 
firmness,  and  thus  has  a  tendency  to  bring  them  to  that 
medium  state  which  is  the  most  favourable  to  the  purposes  of 
vegetation.  It  is  more  soft  and  unctuous  than  clay;  indeed, 
upon  slightly  cutting  it,  it  becomes  so  flexible,  that  it  may 
be  kneaded  like  dough,  or  paste,  though,  when  the  moisture 
evaporates,  it  falls  into  pieces:  it  therefore  blends  easily  with 
the  soil,  and  partaking  more  largely  of  calcareous  matter, 
its  effects,  though  slow,  are  in  all  the  latter  cases  more 
fertilizing. 

2.  Sandy  marl,  which  is  far  more  frequent  in  Ireland  than 
in  any  part  of  England,  and  is  commonly  found  in  pits  of  lime- 
stone-gravel, whence  it  is  in  that  country  usually  called  lime- 
stone-sand. It  is  seldom  clammy  or  unctuous,  like  the  clay 
marl,  nor  does  it  adhere  to  the  tongue,  but  crumbles  between 
the  fingers,  and  feels  gritty;  when  exposed  to  the  air  and 
moisture,  it  slowly  chips  and  moulders;  and  it  partakes  of 
some  extraneous  mixtures.  Its  colour  is  sometimes  like  that 
of  lead,  or  brown,  approaching  to  black,  and  at  others  blue. 
As  implied  by  its  name,  it  contains  an  excess  of  sand  over  that 
of  clay ;  for,  upon  analyzing  it,  the  proportion  of  the  former 
has,  in  most  cases,  been  found  to  be  from  60  to  80  per  cent. ; 
and  it  does  not  effervesce  with  acids  so  quickly  as  the  calca- 
reous marls.     It  possesses  but  a  small  degree  of  tenacity,  and 

as  a  manure,  makes  no  ebullition  with  acids  ;  neither  do  several  of  the  red 
marls;  yet  many  of  Ihem  are  known  to  be  productive  of  great  improvement 
to  land. 

J2 


108  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

it  has  proved  an  excellent  manure  for  clayey  soils,  mellowing 
their  stiffness,  and  rendering  them  easier  to  work. 

3.  Sldhj  or  slony  marl,  to  which  class,  also,  properly  be- 
longs that  which  is  called  rotten  limestone,  is  chietiy  applied 
to  iieavy  land.  Its  operation  is  slow,  but  very  lasting;  land, 
forty  years  after  it  has  been  laid  on,  having  been  found  to  bear 
a  closer  and  a  better  crop  of  grass  than  that  which  had  been 
recently  applied. 

4.  Shelly  marl,  which  is  evidently  produced  by  the  remains 
of  testaceous  fish,  which,  dying  in  their  shells,  become,  in 
process  of  time,  converted  into  calcareous  earth,  and  their 
bodies,  when  decomposed,  furnish  a  kind  of  mould  composed 
of  animal  substance,  which  is  no  doubt  analogous  to  the  effect 
of  dung.  It  is,  therefore,  highly  fertilizing  when  judiciously 
applied  to  soils  of  every  kind,  which  are  either  in  themselves 
dry,  or  which  have  been  properly  drained. 

Such  are  the  most  common  denominations  by  which  marl  is 
usually  distinguished,  though  it  is  susceptible  of  many  sub- 
divisions by  those  who  affect  to  treat  the  subject  scientifically. 

It  is,  however,  more  frequently  classed  under  the  sole  cha- 
racters of  siliceous,  argillaceous  or  calcareous,  according  as 
sand,  clay,  or  lime  predominates  in  its  composition ;  but  for  all 
practical  purposes,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  divide  it  into  earth- 
marl  and  sliell-marl. 

Earth-Marl. — The  former,  though  in  substance,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  sometimes  principally  formed  of  sand,  is  yet,  in  most 
cases,  chiefly  composed  of  clay,  and  of  the  carbonate  of  lime, 
intimately  combined,  but  mixed  in  very  different  proportions, 
by  which  its  properties  are  necessarily  varied.  It  acts  as 
manure  physically,  or  substantially,  through  the  effect  of  the 
clay  in  rendering  soils  tenacious;  and  chemically,  by  the 
operation  of  lime  in  the  manner  which  has  been  explained  in 
treating  of  that  fossil. 

Although  it  is  very  generally  thought  that  extreme  accuracy 
in  philosophical  experiments  is  useless  in  the  practice  of  agri- 
culture, yet  it  is  particularly  necessary  to  ascertain  the  precise 
difference  between  these  modes  of  action;  for,  of  course,  either 
one  or  the  other  prevails,  according  to  the  greater  or  the  less 
quantity  of  clay  of  which  tjie  marl  is  composed.  Thus,  to 
produce  the  first-named,  or  physical  eftect,  a  much  larger 
amount  must  be  laid  upon  the  land  than  when  the  second  is 
the  object;  for  clay  can  only  be  advantageously  employed  in 
that  view  upon  soils  that  are  too  light,  and  consequently  tho 


ON  MANURES.  "  109 

marl  must  be  laid  in  proportionate  abundance,  or  it  will  not 
improve  tiie  condition  of  the  ground;  whilst  a  clayey  soil 
would,  on  the  contrary,  lose  some  of  its  good  qualities  by  the 
addition  of  marl,  after  the  eflects  of  the  lime  were  exhausted. 
The  intimate  combination  of  these  two  substances  in  the  com- 
position of  marl,  atlbrds  it,  however,  this  advantage — that  it 
divides,  and  falls  to  powder,  with  greater  ease  than  can  be 
effected  by  any  artificial  mixture,  and  therefore  unites  more 
readily  with  the  soil. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  calcareous  matter  in  the  marl  be 
combined  with  sand  instead  of  clay,  or  that  there  are,  as  in 
many  instances,  veins  of  calcareous  sand  intermixed,  then  it 
suits  a  clayey  soil.  The  proportion  in  which  these  substances 
are  combined  is,  however,  so  different,  that  they  often  vary  in 
the*  same  vein,  and  it  is  generally  found  that  the  bottom  part  is 
more  calcareous  than  the  top.  From  15  to  40  per  cent,  is  not 
unfrcquently  the  proportion  of  Calcareous  matter  found  in  clay; 
that  of  a  sandy  nature  generally  contains  a  larger  proportion.* 

The  stone  marl  of  hilly  countries  is  frequently  still  more 
abundant  in  calcareous  substance;  but  it  also,  in  many  other 
places,  contains  such  large  quantities  of  extraneous  matter, 
that  it  may  be  properly  considered  as  belonging  to  the  earthy 
species,  and  has,  in  some  instances,  been  laid  upon  the  land  to 
the  extent  of  400  to  600  single  horse  cart-loads  per  acre, 
which  heavy  labour  renders  the  use  of  lime  more  economical, 
although  carrried  from  a  greater  distance,  except  in  cases 
where  the  chief  object  is  to  loosen  very  stiff  clays,  on  which  it 
acts  with  considerable  effect. 

SheU-7narL — Shell-marl  is  usually  of  a  bluish  colour,  soft  to 
the  touch,  and  somewhat  resembling  potters'  earth ;  but  when 
exposed  to  the  air,  it  crumbles  and  tails  into  a  pow^der,  nearly 
in  the  same  manner  as  lime  does  in  slaking. 

The  nature  of  this  marl  is  very  different  from  that  of  earth 

*  Argillaceous  marl  usually  contains  from  68  to  80  per  cent,  of  clay,  and 
from  32  to  20  per  cent,  of  calcareous  matter :  but  it  has  been  found  composed 
of  70  per  cent,  of  calcareous,  and  S  to  10  of  sand,  with  clear  signs  of  some  iron. 
Siliceous  marl  very  often  contains  above  75  per  cent,  of  sand,  consequently 
chalk  and  sand  are  the  predominant  ingredients. — Kirwan  on  Manures, 
p.  13. 

The  analysis  made  by  Von  Thaer,  of  a  quantity  dug  out  out  of  pits  at  Ol- 
d^iibur;;,  in  Germany,  showed  it  to  contain  in  100  parts — 

Of  tine  sand 36 

Clay  of  a  soapy  kind 44 

Mould  •         .  5 

Carbonate  of  lime 14 

Gypsum 1 


110  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

or  stone ;  for  it  contains  both  stimulant  and  fertilizing"  proper- 
ties which  do  not  belong  to  the  former,  and  from  its  effects 
upon  the  soil  it  has  been  classed  among  animal  manures, 
tiiough  it  more  properly  resembles  a  compost  formed  of  earth 
and  lime,  with  animal  and  vegetable  substances,  for  whicii 
reason  it  is  justly  considered  preferable  to  the  otJiers.  It 
exists  at  the  bottom  of  most  lakes;  and  under  bogs  and  morasses, 
or  otlicr  pieces  of  stagnant  water  which  have  been  drained, 
and  might,  no  doubt,  be  found  in  every  place  where  water  has 
originally  rested :  though,  as  it  is  usually  under  other  layers 
of  earth  or  peat,  its  depth  below  the  surface  is  often  too  great 
to  admit  of  its  being  searched  for  with  advantage.  Every 
farmer  should,  therefore,  carefully  examine  the  sides  and  bot- 
toms of  his  ditches  and  ponds,  for,  by  doing  so,  he  may  often 
find  appearances  of  marl  in  places  where  it  was  not  suspected, 
and  large  beds  of  the  most  valuable  sort  have  been  in  that 
manner  discovered,  which  might  have  remained  unnoticed  for 
years. 

It  is  chiefly  composed  of  those  myriads  of  small  shell-fish 
which,  with  other  fry  and  insects,  usually  procreate  wherever 
there  are  pools  of  water,  and  the  remains  of  which  have,  in  tlie 
course  of  past  ages,  been  deposited  along  with  sand  and  decayed 
vegetables,  or  other  matter  swept  from  eminences,  or  by  the 
decomposition  of  aquatic  plants.  This  process  of  alluvion  has, 
in  the  lapse  of  time,  produced  those  masses  of  shell-marl  w  hich 
display  the  most  striking  effects  when  employed  as  manure ; 
for  the  shells,  when  decomposed,  are  converted  into  lime  of 
such  purity,  that  some  moss-marl,  examined  by  Dr.  Coventry, 
was  found  to  contain  84  per  cent,  of  pure  chalk — which  is 
more  than  is  generally  possessed  by  the  purest  lime — and  the 
mould  formed  of  the  other  substances  must  be  very  rich.*     It 

*  By  other  experiments  made  by  Sir  G.  Mackenzie,  it  appeared  that  some 
shell-marl  was  composed  of 

Lime 41  25 

Carbonic  acid 32 

Silex 14 

Aritil 4         y  in  100  parts,     (a) 

Oxide  of  iron  ....  2  5     i 

Inflammable  matter  ...      2 

Loss 4  70  J 

(a)  [The  green  sand  of  New  Jersey  is  remarkable  for  its  fertilizinsr  pro- 
perties. It  goes  under  the  name  of  marl;  but  it  is  differently  constituted 
from  the  marl  spoken  of  in  this  work.  Its  power  depends  upon  its  plms- 
phates.  Its  etTects  in  reclaimin-!;  worn-out  sandj- lands  arc  well  known  in 
New  Jersey,  where  its  value  is  appreciated.  In  fact,  it  is  sometimes  too 
much,  appreciated;  beuic  relied  upon  to  the  exi  hision  of  other  manures,  and 
applied  to  all  sorts  of  land,  and  for  all  kinds  of  crops.] 


ON  MANURES.  HI 

may,  therefore,  be  converted  into  quicklime,  by  burning-,  or  it 
may  be  used  in  its  natural  state,  but  then  it  is  not  so  minutely 
divisible,  nor  so  soluble  in  water,  and  is,  of  course,  more  tardy 
in  its  operation ;  its  effects,  however,  continue  longer,  and  it  is 
apparent  that,  as  it  contains  more  calcareous  matter  than  the 
common  qualities  of  lime,  it  may  be  used  in  smaller  quantities. 
When  spread  upon  grass,  or  clover,  it  is  found  to  promote  the 
growth  of  tbe  herbage,  for  it  partakes  of  the  nature  of  pounded 
limestone,  and  possessing  none  of  the  caustic  properties  of 
quicklime,  it  may  be  used  without  hazard  as  a  top-dressing. 
It  also  occasions  heavy  tillage  crops;  and  if  the  land  be  not 
over-cropped  before  it  is  returned  to  pasture,  the  turf  is  found 
to  be  closer,  more  plentiful,  and  sweeter  than  before ;  but  on 
cold  damp  soils,  which  have  been  heavily  worked,  the  crops 
of  grain  have  proved  later,  and  the  corn  lighter,  than  on  land 
which  has  been  limed. 

Application  of  marl. — Many  farmers  either  lay  marl  upon 
land  sown  with  tares,  thus  making  a  bastard  fallow ;  or  they 
apply  it  to  grass  land,  or  to  a  clover  ley,  to  be  broken  up  in 
the  following  year.  The  latter  is  certainly  the  preferable,  as 
well  as  the  most  general  practice,  for  it  not  alone  produces  an 
abundance  of  good  pasture,  but  it  affords  time  for  the  season  to 
operate  in  bringing  the  marl  into  a  fit  state  for  future  tillage 
crops,  which  cannot  be  done  in  the  common  course  of  cropping, 
because  it  becomes  buried  by  the  plough  before  it  is  properly 
mixed  with  the  soil,  especially  if  turned  in  deep  the  first  earth. 
It  should,  therefore,  be  allowed  sufficient  time  to  sink  and  eat 
itself  into  the  surface  before  it  is  ploughed  up.  This,  how- 
ever, is  by  some  persons  carried  to  an  absurd  length,  as  they 
occasionally  spread  a  coat  of  marl  upon  the  green  sward,  and 
leave  it  there  unploughed  for  many  years,  in  which  case  the 
grass  receives  considerable  detriment,  for  the  marl  then  sinks 
downwards  in  a  body,  without  incorporating  with  the  soil ; 
though,  when  it  has  lain  a  long  time  in  this  state,  the  subse- 
quent crops  of  corn  have  been  found  to  be  enormous.  If  laid 
upon  grass,  it  may  be  carried  out  during  all  periods  of  the 
year  in  which  the  crop  is  not  in  a  forward  state  of  growth ;  but 
if  applied  to  arable  land  intended  for  immediate  cultivation, 
the  months  of  June  and  July,  or  soon  afler  the  autumn  seed- 
time, are  considered  the  best  for  its  application.  If  laid  on 
a  short  tim.e  previous  to  winter,  its  eftect  is  also  generally 
prompt,  because,  except  it  be  of  a  very  tenacious  kind,  the 
action  of  the  cold  and  rain  commonly  divide  it  in  time  to  be 


112  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

thoroiif^hly  amalgfamated  with  the  soil  by  the  tillage  of  a  sum- 
mer tallow.  If,  however,  it  be  only  applied  during  the  spring- 
months,  this  cannot  be  so  properly  carried  into  execution,  for 
it  requires  the  winter's  rain  and  frost  to  crumble  it,  and  it  con- 
sequently has  but  little  power  upon  the  year's  crop.  A  com- 
plete summer  fallow  is,  undoubtedly,  the  best  mode  of  bringing 
it  into  perfect  operation :  but  not  only  is  the  expense  often 
objected  to,  but  there  is  also  a  strong  prejudice  entertained  by 
many  persons  against  fallowing — into  which  it  is  not  our  pre- 
sent object  to  inquire,  although  we  necessarily  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  notice  it  hereafter. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  add,  that,  in  whatever  manner  it 
be  applied,  it  must  be  equally  spread  over  the  land ;  and  if 
there  should  be  any  large  lumps  remaining,  these  should  be 
broken  with  mallets,  or  clotting-beetles,  in  the  same  manner 
as  chalk,  before  it  is  ploughed  in.  This,  however,  is  not  usually 
done  until  the  marl  has  partaken  of  both  one  summer's  sun  and 
one  winter's  frost ;  and  should  the  previous  season  have  proved 
unfavourable  to  the  reduction  of  the  marl  to  small  particles,  the 
process,  in  some  cases,  costs  so  much,  that,  when  laid  upon  grass 
or  clover,  it  is  often  found  more  advisable  to  leave  the  ground 
unbroken  during  another  year.  Then,  when  well  crumbled, 
dry  weather  should  be  chosen  for  rolling  and  harrowing  it — a 
first  time  with  heavy  rollers  and  drags,  and  a  second  after  it 
has  been  exposed  to  rain,  and  has  been  again  dried  :  in  short, 
until  it  has  been  rendered  as  small  as  possible;  after  which  it 
should  be  lightly  ploughed  in,  again  harrowed,  and  receive 
from  two  to  four  ploughings,  according  to  the  condition  of  the 
soil.  The  intermixture  of  the  marl  with  the  earth  cannot,  in 
fact,  be  too  complete  ;  for  whatever  proportion  remains  uncom- 
bined  with  the  soil,  will  not  alone  fail  of  producing  tiie  intended 
etlect,  but  will  have  one  of  an  opposite  and  prejudicial  tendency. 

The  quantity  of  marl  wiiich  it  may  be  prudent  to  apply  to 
the  land  depends  entirely  on  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  the 
properties  of  the  marl :  the  more  calcareous  is  the  latter,  the 
greater  is  the  effect  which  it  will  produce,  as  a  stimulant;  and 
shell-marl  possesses,  besides,  the  additional  power  of  nourish- 
ing tiie  soil  by  the  vegetable  and  animal  mould  with  which  it 
is  combined.  This  species  was  formerly  profusely  used  on 
every  sort  of  ground,  but  at  present  the  average  amount 
applied  to  land  of  the  medium  kind  is  from  30  to  40,  or,  if  it 
be  very  light,  only  25  cart-loads,  of  16  cubic  feet  per  acre. 
Land  ol"the  latter  quality  may,  indeed,  be  readily  over-marled; 


ON  MANURES.  H3 

as  by  repeated  marlings,  in  large  quantities,  the  surface  nf 
poor  ground  may  be  rendered  so  loose  that,  in  some  cases,  it 
has  not  aflbrded  a  sufficient  hold  to  the  roots  of  corn  and  grass. 
Double  the  quantity  may,  however,  be  laid  upon  strong  cohe- 
sive soils,  for  it  is  not  so  easy  to  give  them  too  large  a  dose; 
but  if  cold,  wet,  or  moorish,  great  circumspection  is  requisite 
in  the  application  of  this  marl,  for  if  the  land  be  not  previously 
well  drained,  it  will  only  increase  its  tenacity. 

The  earthy  marls,  if  much  mixed  with  clay,  are  only  fit  for 
light  soils;  and,  if  applied  to  them,  the  quantity  must  be  in- 
creased in  proportion  to  the  deficiency  of  calcareous  matter. 
When  of  good  quality,  containing  about  20  to  25  per  cent,  of 
calcareous  or  chalky  substance,  they  are  commonly  laid  upon 
such  land  to  the  thickness  of  an  inch;  which  will  require  135 
cubic  yards,  or  about  200  single  horse  cart-loads  per  acre.* 
Sandy  marl,  though  generally  more  calcareous,  yet  being  dug 
up  with  less  labour,  is  often  used  upon  clays  with  greater 
freedom ;  and  we  have  already  seen  the  great  extent  to  which 
stony  marl  is  sometimes  applied.f  In  many  parts,  however, 
where  the  effects  of  marl  have  been  extensively  experienced, 
these  quantities  have  been  diminished  one-half,  with  nearly,  if  not 
entirely,  the  same  immediate  effect  upon  the  crops,  though  its 
power  has  been  less  durable,  and  has  in  most  cases  altogether 
ceased  at  the  end  of  at  most  a  dozen  years;  but  then,  it  admits 
of  the  following  advantages — a  farmer  may  be  able  to  afford 
half  the  expense,  when  the  whole  amount  may  be  beyond  his 
means;  or,  at  the  same  time,  he  can  marl  double  the  extent 
of  land,  and  he  can  reap  all  the  probable  benefit  within  the 
term  of  a  moderate  lease.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for,  supposing  him 
to  have  the  freehold — it  has  been  found,  that  when  large 
quantities  of  marl  have  been  laid  upon  the  land,  though  its 
effects  last  longer,  yet,  unless  cultivation  be  carried  on  with 
great  intelligence  and  care,  these  are  at  length  worn  out, 
and  by  severe  cropping  to  repay  tlie  expense,  large  tracts  of 
marled  land  have  been  much  exhausted.  In  such  cases,  too,  a 
second  application  has  been  attended  with  very  little  benefit; 
whereas,  when  it  has  been  laid  on  in  moderate  quantites,  a 

*Clay  marl  is  not  uncommonly  laid  upon  light  soils  to  the  extent  of  two 
roods,  each  containing  64  cubic  yards  ;  but  on  heavy  land,  half  that  quantity 
per  acre  is  considered  a  good  covering. 

1  Throughout  many  parts  of  Scotland  it  is  applied  at  the  rate  of  200  to  300 
small  cart-loads  per  Scotch  acre, — equal  to  160  to  240  per  imperial  acre.  It 
it  is  there  commonly  applied  to  grass  land,  and  allowed  to  remain  one  or 
more  winters  on  the  surface,  until  completely  reduced  by  the  frost. 


114  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

second  and  further  applications  have  been  successful;  the 
reason  of  which  evidently  is,  that,  in  the  first  instance,  the 
fertility  of  the  mould  was  either  exhausted  by  the  chemical 
effect  of  the  marl,  or,  that,  the  soil  being-  of  a  heavy  kind,  and 
the  marl  containing-  too  great  a  proportion  of  clay,  tiiis  addition 
became  injurious;  while,  in  the  second,  dung  had  been  applied 
in  aid  of  the  marl,  or,  its  earthy  properties  being-  of  a  nature 
opposed  to  those  of  the  soil,  assisted  in  its  amelioration.  The 
latter  of  which  suppositions  is,  indeed,  supported  by  the  fact, 
that  wlien  a  second  application  of  clay-marl  has  failed,  lime 
has  been  laid  upon  the  same  land  with  sensibly  good  efl'ects. 

It  has  also  been  observed,  in  those  places  where  marl  is 
applied  to  the  land  in  small  quantities  at  stated  distances  of 
time,  and  where  a  sufficiency  of  dung  is  likewise  used,  that 
when  weeds  of  any  peculiar  species  push  forward  with  extra- 
ordinary vigour,  marl,  if  accompanied  by  a  clean  fallow,  not 
only  de'stroys  them,  but  produces  better  corn  than  when  dung 
has  been  laid  on  alone,  though  also  upon  a  fallow,  and  instead 
of  marl ;  which  has  been  thought  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
exuberance  of  the  weeds  proving  that  the  soil  is  already  abun- 
dantly furnished  with  nutritive  matter  for  the  promotion  of 
vegetation,  but  that  it  is  more  appropriate  to  the  production 
of  the  weed  with  which  the  ground  is  covered,  than  to  cereal 
crops:  whence  it  has  been  inferred,  that  the  chemical  action 
of  the  marl  probably  changes  the  nature  of  the  mould. 

The  durability  of  the  effects  of  marl  necessarily  depends 
upon  its  power  over  the  soil.  A  very  large  dose  of  argilla- 
ceous, or  clayey  marl,  ameliorates  sandy  soils  to  such  a  sensi- 
ble degree  by  the  consistence  which  it  affords  to  the  land, 
that,  if  proper  attention  be  paid  to  its  complete  combination 
with  the  surface,  and  to  the  prevention  by  careful  culture  of 
its  sinking  to  the  subsoil,  as  well  as  to  the  employment  of  pu- 
trescent manure,  the  improvement  thus  effected  will  be  found 
permanent.  When  laid  on  in  smaller  quantities,  its  effect 
and  duration  will,  on  those  light  soils,  of  course,  be  proportion- 
ate; but  on  clays,  as  its  chief  power  consists  in  the  calcareous 
matter  which  it  contains,  its  greatest  effect  is  apparent  when 
the  land  is  brought  into  the  second  course  of  tillage,  after 
which  it  gradually  begins  to  decline,  and  afler  six  or  eight 
crops  have  been  grown,  it  usually  ceases  to  operate. 


ON  MANURES.  115 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MINERAL    MANURES    CONTINUED. GYPSUM. 

Gypsum,  otherwise  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster  of  Paris, 
as  it  is  commonly  termed,  consists  of  pure  calcareous  earth,  or 
lime,  30  parts  or  33;  sulphuric  acid,  32  parts  or  43;  crystal- 
lized water,  38  parts  or  24.  It  requires  from  450  to  500 
times  its  own  weight  of  \vater  to  dissolve  it;  though  reducible 
to  powder  in  the  tire,  it  is  almost  as  difficult  of  fusion  as  lime- 
stone, and  it  loses  about  20  per  cent,  by  calcination.  When 
pure,  it  does  not  efiervesce  with  acids;  it  is  insipid  in  taste, 
and  free  from  smell;  but  there  are  other  sorts  which  vary  in 
purity,  and  hence  the  analyses  of  many  chemists  differ  in  their 
accounts  of  its  properties.  There  is,  however,  a  simple  mode 
of  trying  its  quality,  which  is  common  in  America,  and  con- 
sists in  putting  a  quantity  of  it  pulverized  into  a  dry  pot  over 
the  fire ;  and  when  heated,  it  gives  out  a  sulphurous  smell.  If 
the  ebullition,  or  bubbling,  which  then  takes  place,  is  con- 
siderable, the  plaster  is  good ;  but  if  not,  it  is  considered  indif- 
ferent ;  and  if  it  remains  motionless,  like  sand,  it  is  thought  to 
be  hardly  worth  any  thing.  Another  test  of  its  goodness  is 
obtained  by  putting  the  powder  alone  into  an  iron  pot  over  the 
fire,  and  when  it  bubbles,  like  boiling  water,  it  will  admit  of  a 
straw  being  thrust  to  the  bottom  without  resistance. 

Application,  (a) — When  applied  in  its  raw  state,  gypsum 
is  prepared  for  use  hj  first  pounding  it  with  sledge-hammers 
into  very  small  pieces,  and  then  either  grinding  it  in  a  mill, 
or  passing  it  under  the  crushers  of  oil-cake,  by  which  about  20 
to  25  bushels  per  ton  are  produced,  according  to  its  state  of 
purity.  By  the  latter  process,  however,  it  is  not  sufficiently 
pulverized,  which  is  essential  to  its  utility ;  for  if  this  be  not 
completely  effected,  not  only  will  a  larger  quantity  be  required, 
but  even  that  will  not,  in  some  cases,  be  found  so  effectual  as 
the  powder.  When  employed  as  manure,  it  is  seldom  burned, 
and  if  used  either  in  its  natural  state,  or  in  proportionate 
quantity  if  calcined,  no  perceptible  difference  can  be  disco- 
vered, unless  heavy  rain  should  fall  soon  after  it  has  been 
spread,  which  gathers  it  into  lumps,  like  paste,  and  hardens  it ; 

(a)  [It  is  now  generally  considered  that  it  is  best  to  apply  gypaum  in  con- 
nection with  animal  or  organic  manures.] 
K 


116  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

but,  if  this  be  g-uarded  against,  the  only  sensible  effect  of  cal- 
cination is  to  deprive  it  of  its  aqueous  particles,  and  thus  to 
reduce  its  weight ;  for  the  sulphuric  acid  which  it  contains 
cannot  be  expelled  by  the  most  violent  heat  of  the  furnace. 
The  only  object  to  be  gained  by  burning  it  is,  therefore,  to 
bring  it  into  as  fine  a  powder  as  possible,  w^hich,  when  it  has 
been  submitted  to  the  fire,  is  comparatively  easy :  lying  also 
in  a  less  compass,  the  carriage  is  besides  cheaper.  When 
sold  in  that  state  by  the  London  dealers,  it  however  costs  about 
45,  6^.  per  bushel ;  though,  when  merely  ground,  without 
having"  been  burned,  but  brought  to  the  condition  of  coarse 
meal,  which  answers  all  its  purpose  as  manure,  it  may  be  pro- 
cured at  25. :  we  shall  therefore  confine  our  observations  to  its 
application  when  raw. 

The  soils  to  which  it  is  the  most  congenial  are  the  light, 
dry,  sandy,  gravelly,  and  chalky  :  to  heavy  loams,  strong  clays, 
and  to  wet  land,  it  seems  to  yield  no  benefit,  unless  the  former 
happens  to  have  been  well  limed.  It  was  long  thought  that 
g"ypsum,  being  itself  calcareous,  could  not  be  applied  with  any 
advantage  to  soils  which  were  impregnated  with  similar  mat- 
ter ;  and  as  the  analysis  of  its  properties  shovv^s  that  it  contains 
both  alkali  and  sulphuric  acid,  which  are  known  to  become 
neutralized  when  combined  in  just  proportions,  it  was  also, 
therefore,  generally  imagined  that  its  eflects  upon  vegetation 
would,  in  certain  cases,  be  scarcely  perceptible.  These  con- 
clusions have,  however,  led  to  much  misapprehension  in  its 
use  as  a  manure ;  for,  in  the  first  case,  experience  has  proved 
it  to  be  beneficial  when  laid  upon  limestone  soils,  or  upon  land 
which  has  been  saturated  wnth  chalk  or  lime ;  and,  in  the 
second,  although  alkalies  and  acids,  when  acting  solely  upon 
each  other,  are  rendered  neutral,  yet,  when  the  resulting  com- 
pound is  applied  as  a  dressing  to  land,  its  effect  has  in  many 
instances  been  found  eminently  useful.  The  causes  which 
have  produced  these  effects  are,  however,  far  too  obscure,  in 
the  present  state  of  chemical  knowledge  as  applied  to  the 
nature  of  soils,  to  allow  of  more  than  mere  conjecture ;  and 
would  lead  to  a  discussion  which  could  prove  interesting  to 
only  a  very  limited  number  of  our  readers. 

Upon  exhausted  land,  or  upon  soils  containing  little  vegeta- 
tive mould,  or  deprived  of  putrescent  manure,  it  will  prove 
powerless ;  but  it  succeeds  well  after  an  application  of  dung, 
or  of  green  crops  ploughed  down.  It  produces,  also,  more 
effect  in  dry,  th^n  when  laid  on  in  wet  weather.     A  watery 


ON  MANURES.  117 

temperature,  at  least,  arrests  its  effects,  and  seems  even  to 
suppress  them  altog-ether  if  the  gypsum  has  been  calcined : 
but  it  should  be  observed,  that  this  only  occurs  if  rain  falls 
soon  after  its  application  ;  for  if  it  happens  previously,  its  mois- 
ture upon  the  plants  will  be  found  useful.  This  employment 
of  the  gypsum,  either  during  the  prevalence  of  rain,  or  imme- 
diately before  it  has  fallen,  has  given  rise  to  many  mistakes, 
which  have  occasioned  much  of  the  prejudice  which  is  enter- 
tained against  its  use.  Tims,  in  the  Sussex  Report  it  has 
been  stated  that  equal  quantities  of  French  and  English  gyp- 
sum were  laid,  on  the  14th  of  June,  on  six  different  fields  of  a 
sandy  loam,  sown  with  beans,  peas,  potatoes,  and  barley,  besides 
natural  grass,  at  the  rate  of  8  bushels  to  the  acre.  On  the  day 
it  was  strew^ed  it  was  showery,  and  on  the  15th  it  rained  from 
10  in  the  morning  till  the  evening ;  yet  neither  in  that,  nor  in 
the  following  year,  could  any  greater  appearance  of  luxuriance 
be  perceived  than  on  the  surrounding  ground.  The  experi- 
ment was  also  repeated  in  March  and  the  middle  of  April  upon 
some  patches  of  red  clover,  wheat,  and  spring  tares,  with  simi- 
lar effect :  on  both  occasions  it  rained  heavily.  Thus,  not  only, 
as  we-  shall  perceive,  has  it  been  applied  to  some  crops  to 
which  it  is  useless,  but  in  seasons  which  were  inappropriate, 
and  it  has  been  washed  off  those  plants,  on  the  stems  of  which 
had  it  been  allowed  to  remain,  it  no  doubt  w^ould  have  been 
attended  with  good  effect. 

The  crops  to  which  it  is  the  most  appropriate  are  the  arti- 
ficial grasses  and  leguminous  plants,  though  it  has  been  also 
known  to  materially  improve  the  sward  of  moss-bound  pasture. 
It  never  appears  to  produce  better  effects  than  when  it  has 
been  laid  on  red  clover,  already  so  far  grown  as  that  the  leaves 
nearly  cover  the  soil ;  for  there  seems  no  doubt  that  it  acts 
with  the  greatest  force  when  it  adheres  to  them,  and  that  the 
longer  it  remains  upon  them  the  better.  It  should,  therefore, 
be  used  as  a  top-dressing,  and  applied  in  the  latter  end  of  April, 
or  the  beginning  of  May.  Besides  the  effect  attributed  to  its 
application  to  the  leaves,  it  has  not  been  found  so  advantageous 
wdien  laid  on  during  the  cold  months  of  winter,  while  plants 
are  in  a  torpid  state;  though  many  people  spread  it  in  autumn 
upon  the  young  clover  of  the  first  year,  and  others,  after  the 
first  cut,  which  has  thus  been  often  known  to  produce  a  larger 
crop  than  the  former.  Perhaps,  however,  these  plans  might 
be  beneficially  combined  were  the  quantity  of  gypsum  divided; 
one  portion  to  be  used  as  an  early  sprinkling  when  the  first 


118  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

crop  begins  to  appear,  and  the  second  as  soon  after  it  has  been 
mown  as  the  new  leaves  spring  up.  If,  however,  the  plants 
of  either  clover,  sainfoin,  or  lucerne,  should  stand  very  thick 
upon  the  land,  and  if  the  soil  be  sufficiently  fertile  to  push 
those  first  crops  vigorously  forward,  in  that  case  the  gypsum 
would  probably  be  productive  of  such  an  excess  of  vegetation, 
as  might  occasion  them  to  become  so  rank  as  to  rot  upon  tlie 
lower  parts  of  the  stem,  and  its  application  should  be  deferred 
until  after  the  second  cutting. 

In  order  to  spread  it,  with  the  intention  of  covering  the 
leaves,  a  calm  day  should  be  chosen;  and  it  should  be  spread 
by  hand,  or  rather  through  a  sieve,  either  early  in  a  morning 
in  which  the  dew  has  fallen  heavily,  or  late  at  night,  or  after 
a  gentle  shower,  that  thus  the  moisture  may  occasion  it  to 
stick  to  them.  It  should  be  avoided  either  on  a  w'indy  day,  or 
when  the  weather  threatens  rain  ;  and  the  powder  should  be 
ground  fine.  The  usual  quantity  varies  from  four  to  six 
bushels;  if  completely  reduced,  and  of  strong  quality,  per- 
haps the  former  will,  on  good  soils,  bo  found  sufficient  if  laid 
on  at  once ;  or,  if  at  two  periods  of  the  year,  with  a  small 
increase  each  time  upon  half  that  amount.  If  coarsely  ground, 
it  will  not  be  found  effectual  in  lis  application  to  the  leaves ; 
and  if  used  either  in  drills,  or  as  a  common  top-dressing,  at 
least  the  full  quantity  just  mentioned  must  then  be  applied. 

As  lucerne  and  sainfoin  are  the  only  artificial  grasses  gene- 
rally cultivated,  wiiich  remain  for  a  number  of  years  upon 
soils  adapted  to  their  growth,  it  has,  however,  been  found,  in 
many  instances,  that  by  forcing  a  heavy  crop  in  the  first  year, 
by  the  use  of  six  bushels  per  acre,  and  repeating  that  quantity 
in  the  third  or  fourth,  the  plants  have  shortly  afterwards  be- 
come so  exhausted  as  to  admit  of  no  alternative  but  the  plough. 
It,  therefore,  merits  consideration,  how  far  the  obtaining  an 
increase  of  those  crops,  by  such  means,  within  a  short  period, 
is  more  advantageous,  than  by  the  application  of  only  two  or 
three  bushels  per  acre,  and  at\erwards  repeating  the  same 
quantity  at  a  future  stage,  to  leave  them  longer  in  the  ground; 
but  it  is  a  point  which  depends  in  a  great  measure  upon  the 
local  circumstances  of  the  land,  or  the  particular  resources  of 
the  farmer,  and  must  be  left  entirely  to  his  own  judgment. 

With  respect  to  the  permanency  of  gypsum  as  a  manure 
for  artificial  grasses,  it  has  been  stated,  in  those  cases  in  which 
its  beneficial  effects  have  been  proved,  that  sainfoin  dressed 
with  it  did  not  materially  decline  until  the  fourth  crop,  and 


ON  MANURES.  119 

on  sowing-  five  bushels  more  per  acre,  it  recovered,  and  became 
as  productive  as  before,  yielding-,  on  a  thin  soil,  about  a  load 
and  a  half;  whilst  another  patch,  dressed  partly  with  soot, 
became  so  weak  as  to  be  scarcely  worth  mowing.  Its  dura- 
bility, when  applied  to  lucerne,  has  been  found  to  produce 
very  fine  crops  during  five  years ;  when  the  natural  grasses 
appearing  to  gain  ground,  five  bushels  more  per  acre  were 
again  laid  on,  which  forced  such  a  smothering  crop,  that  the 
grass  could  no  longer  make  head  until  after  the  third  cutting, 
when  it  afforded,  with  the  last  shoot  of  the  lucerne,  a  very  fine 
crop  of  rowen.  Although  much  difference  is  observable  in  the 
results  of  the  various  experiments  which  have  been  recorded 
respecting  the  effects  of  gypsum  on  artificial  grasses,  yet  there 
are  none  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  in  which  its  application 
has  not  been  successful  when  applied  as  a  top-dressing  to  the 
plants,  conducted  with  due  precaution,  and  not  deranged  by 
violent  rain,  or  other  accidents  arising  from  the  weather.  In 
this  we  are  borne  out  by  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Fothergill,  of 
Philadelphia,  as  well  as  by  that  of  several  eminent  American 
farmers,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Parkinson,  and  supported  by  the 
more  recent  treatises  on  the  subject,  written  by  Mr.  Russell, 
and  Professor  V.  Thaer.  We,  therefore,  do  not  hesitate  to  re- 
commend it  as  an  effectual  means  of  promoting  their  growth, 
and  more  especially  that  of  red  clover,  provided  the  soil 
be  at  the  same  time  tolerably  covered  with  plants ;  though,  in 
confining  that  opinion  to  top-dressings  applied  to  the  leaves, 
as  being  the  most  decidedly  effectual  mode,  yet,  as  there  are 
numberless  instances  of  its  success  when  drilled  along  with 
the  seed,  we  do  not  mean  to  preclude  its  being  laid  upon  the 
land  at  the  time  of  sowing. 

The  trials  which  have  been  hitherto  made  of  its  application 
to  corn  crops  seem  to  prove  that  it  does  not  operate  directly 
on  grain ;  but  they  are  unanimous  in  showing  that  the  stub- 
ble of  a  clover-ley  which  has  been  manured  with  gypsum, 
when  afterwards  ploughed  up,  produces  a  far  better  crop — 
especially  of  wheat — than  when  it  had  been  omitted.  There 
is,  however,  strong  reason  to  suppose  that  this  should  be  rather  % 
ascribed  to  the  luxuriance  of  the  clover — no  matter  in  what 
way  that  may  have  been  occasioned — than  to  the  direct  appli- 
cation of  the  gypsum;  for  it  is  well  known  that  crops  of  wheat, 
and  indeed  of  most  grain,  always  succeed  in  proportion  to  the 
growth  of  the  previous  clover,  which  is  not  improl)a.bly  occa- 
sioned by  its  keeping  the  ground  moist,  and  preventing-  its 
bl2 


120  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

exhalation  by  the  sun.  We  have,  indeed,  heard  some  recent 
instances  of  its  having  been  used  as  a  top-dressing  to  wheat  in 
the  spring — in  some  cases  with  great  success,  and  in  others 
without  any  apparent  effect;  but  this  may  perhaps  be  not  un- 
justly attributed  to  its  having  fallen,  in  the  former  case,  upon 
the  shoots  when  they  had  been  moistened  by  the  dew,  which 
thus  enabled  them  to  retain  the  powder,  and  in  the  latter,  by 
its  having  been  either  washed  off  by  rain,  or  dispelled  by  the 
winds. 

Its  direct  effect  upon  crops  of  pulse  has  not  been  sufficiently 
ascertained  to  enable  us  to  speak  of  it  with  precision.  Peas, 
indeed,  have  been  known  to  succeed  wonderfully  after  sainfoin 
which  had  been  previously  manured  with  gypsum,  but  they 
generally  flourish  in  chalky  soil,  in  which  sainfoin  is  also  com- 
monly sown.  It  has,  however,  been  remarked  that  both  peas 
and  beans  frequently  become  hard  in  boiling,  which  has  been 
attributed  to  the  temperature  of  peculiar  seasons,  and,  above 
all,  to  rain,  which  has  impeded  the  usual  course  of  harvest; 
this,  however,  has  been  found  to  be  a  mistake,  for  it  has  been 
shown  that  this  defect  is  due  either  to  the  soil  being  naturally 
impregnated  with  gypsum,  or  to  its  having  been  laid  upon  the 
land  as  manure.  As  an  instance  both  of  its  effect  and  of  the 
prejudice  which  many  people  entertain  against  it  as  a  manure, 
an  anecdote  has  been  related  of  a  gentleman  who,  having  re- 
commended its  use,  ordered  his  servant  to  spread  a  small  quan- 
tity of  it  secretly  upon  an  adjoining  piece  of  sainfoin,  belonging 
to  an  old  farmer  who  vehemently  decried  it.  The  crop  proved 
surprisingly  abundant  on  that  spot  to  which  the  gypsum  had 
been  applied;  but  upon  discovering  its  occasion,  the  old  man, 
instead  of  profiting  by  the  circumstance,  grew  peevish,  and 
wondered  why  his  neighbour  should  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
spreading  tiiis  new-fangled  manure  over  his  sainfoin,  which, 
for  aught  he  knew,  might  do  more  harm  than  good.  The 
laugh,  however,  going  against  him,  he  determined  to  get  rid 
of  it  by  breaking  up  the  sainfoin  and  sowing  peas;  wlion, 
beliold !  they  also  rose  in  judgment  against  him  so  evidently 
on  the  gypsumed  part,  that  he  was  constrained,  though  re- 
luctantly, to  acknowledge  that  '  it  seemed  good  stuff:'  yet  he 
was  never  afterwards  known  to  lay  a  bushel  of  it  upon  his 
farm. 

Of  its  power,  when  applied  to  bulbous  roots,  the  accounts 
are  equally  deficient;  except,  indeed,  that  Mr.  Parkinson  has 
furnished  different  statements  of  its  application,  on  his  own 


ON  MANURES.  121 

farm  in  America,  to  turnips  both  sown  along  with  them  in  the 
drills,  and  spread  over  the  plants  when  they  got  into  rough 
leaf;  in  each  of  which  the  superiority  of  the  crops  on  those 
portions  of  the  land  on  which  the  gypsum  had  been  laid,  was 
so  evident  in  quantity,  that  in  some  patches  spread  with  it  in 
squares,  in  order  to  mark  any  difference  that  might  arise,  'the 
ground  was  checkered  like  a  floor  of  black  and  white  marble, 
and  the  quality  was  so  much  more  sweet  and  juicy,  that  none 
in  Baltimore  market  sold  for  so  much  or  so  readily.'  He 
however  admits,  in  another  of  his  works,  that  a  small  quantity 
of  compost  dung  was  laid  on  along  with  the  gypsum,  but 
'  where  no  compost  was  applied,  the  gypsum  by  itself  was  of 
no  avail;'  and  in  some  other  trials  made  in  this  country,  when 
laid  upon  alternate  lands  of  oats  and  turnips,  it  has  produced 
no  visible  effect.  In  his  other  experiments  on  potatoes  and 
onions,  as  also  on  carrots  and  cabbages,  and  on  various  crops 
of  white  corn,  no  perceptible  difference  could  be  observed  in 
the  application  of  gypsum;  except  that,  in  one  instance,  'the 
plastered  rows  of  potatoes  were  rather  worse  than  the  others ;' 
and  that  'on  old  land  newly  ploughed  up,  but  not  pared  and 
burnt,  the  gypsum  was  found  to  act  as  a  corrector  of  the  soil, 
and  thus  to  give  more  grain  and  less  straw.'  Mr.  Parkinson, 
indeed,  attributes  its  chief  powers  to  consist  in  its  quickly 
cementing,  and  thus  preventing  the  heat  of  the  sun  from 
exhaling  the  moisture  or  nutritious  quality  of  the  manure ;  by 
which  means  the  plant,  being  kept  moist  at  the  root,  conse- 
quently grows  well,  and  quickly  gets  a  shade  from  its  own 
sprouts.  This  would,  however,  tend  to  prove  that  its  applica- 
tion would  be  serviceable  to  all  crops  in  dry  weather:  an 
opinion  which  is  not  borne  out  by  what  has  been  already  stated 
of  its  effects. 

Such  are  the  chief  p>oints  regarding  its  practical  application 
to  which  some  objections  have  been  made.  1st.  As  tending 
to  render  the  land  stiff"  under  the  plough.  2d.  As  exhausting 
the  soil  by  forcing  vegetation.  3d.  As  being  confined  in  its 
effects  to  particular  crops,  and  becoming,  perhaps,  prejudicial 
when  those  are  followed  by  others  of  a  different  nature.  To 
which  it  may  be  answered : — 

1.  That  the  increased  tenacity  of  the  soil  can  only  be  occa- 
sioned either  by  some  extraordinary  excess  in  the  application 
of  the  gypsum,  or  by  its  being  laid  upon  heavy  clay,  to  which 
it  is  unsuitable ;  but,  if  applied  to  light  porous  land,  unreten- 
tive  of  moisture,  the  firmness  of  the  texture  tlius  imparted 


122  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

« 

would  become  a  real  advantage.  2.  That  this  stimulative 
property  is  common  to  every  substance  that  merits  the  name 
of  manure.  That,  although  gypsum  may  not  be  possessed  of 
any  nutritive  quality  in  itselti  yet,  if  the  land  be  properly 
dunged,  or  otherwise  supplied  with  a  sufficiency  of  other  pu- 
trescent manure,  or  of  nutritive  compost,  to  support  the 
increased  powers  of  vegetation, — and  which,  in  common  pru- 
dence, should  never  be  neglected, — the  soil  will  not,  if  dis- 
creetly managed,  suffer  any  diminution  of  its  accustomed  fer- 
tility, but  will  be  improved  by  the  large  addition  made, 
through  the  greater  luxuriance  of  the  green  crops,  to  the  size 
of  the  dunghill.  3.  That  its  beneficial  effects  being  confined 
to  some  peculiar  species  of  crops,  is  no  real  disadvantage;  for, 
when  applied  to  those  of  a  different  kind,  it  has  not,  in  any 
known  instance,  been  found  prejudicial.  Its  powers  appear, 
indeed,  to  apply  more  to  tiie  specific  crop  on  which  it  is  spread, 
than  to  the  state  of  the  soil ;  and  when  it  has  been  laid  in  vari- 
ous quantities — from  two  bushels  to  two-and-thirty^on  crops 
to  which  it  is  inappropriate,  it  has  been  found  in  all  cases 
wholly  ineftectual. 

It  has  been  assigned  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  in  the  theory 
by  which  the  operation  of  gypsum  is  governed,  as  a  general 
standard  for  its  application,  that  it  is  the  most  beneficial  to 
those  plants  which  always  aftbrd  it  on  analysis :  thus,  the  ashes 
of  lucerne,  sainfoin,  rye-grass,  and  clover,  contain  considera- 
ble proportions  of  gypsum  ;  but  only  a  very  minute  quantity  is 
to  be  found  in  crops  of  corn,  pulse,  or  turnips.  It  is,  therefore, 
essential  to  the  vegetation  of  the  former ;  and  land  which  has. 
grown  tired  of  clover,  may  be  restored  by  being  dressed  with 
it,  or  with  peat  ashes,  some  species  of  which  hold  a  large  por- 
tion of  gypsum.  But  when  the  soil  already  contains  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  this  substance  for  the  support  of  the  cultiva- 
ted grasses,  he  considers  that  its  application  to  tliem,  or  even 
to  the  natural  pasture,  cannot  be  advantageous;  for  plants  only 
require  a  certain  portion  of  manure,  and  an  excess  may  be 
detrimental.  The  reason  why  its  application  to  soils  is  not 
always  efficacious  is,  probably  because  it  is  furnished  by  the  com- 
mon course  of  culture  to  most  well-cultivated  land  in  sufficient 
quantities  for  the  use  of  the  grasses,  and  perhaps  to  an  excess 
beyond  what  other  crops  require  for  their  growth  ;  for  although 
this  may  not  be  apparent  to  the  farmer,  it  is  contained  in  sta- 
ble dung,  and  in  the  dung  of  all  cattle  fed  on  pasture.     A 


ON  MANURES.  123 

certain  portion  of  it  may  also  be  discovered,  upon  analysis,  in 
the  natural  composition  of  most  soils. 

It  has  been  said,  by  Kirwan,  to  accelerate  putrefaction  in  a 
higher  degree  than  any  other  known  substance;  but  this  has 
been  shown  by  some  experiments  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy  to 
be  incorrect,  and  it,  therefore,  cannot  be  supposed  to  afford 
any  direct  nourishment  to  plants,  either  by  the  corruption  of 
animal  remains,  or  the  decomposition  of  manure.  It  has  been 
very  generally  supposed  that,  as  sulphuric  acid  has  a  great 
attraction  for  water,  gypsum  acts  by  its  power  of  attracting 
moisture  from  the  atmosphere ;  thus  cooling  the  air  in  sum- 
mer, and  being  more  efficacious  to  dry,  sandy  soils,  than  wet 
clays.  It  has  even  been  confidently  stated,  that  the  dew  has 
been  known  to  stand  two  hours  later  in  the  morning  upon 
plants  which  had  gypsum  spread  upon  them  than  upon  others 
on  which  there  was  none.  This,  however,  has  been  also  con- 
tradicted by  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  who  considers  the  argument 
in  its  favour  to  be  comparatively  insignificant;  far,  when 
combined  with  water,  it  retains  that  fluid  too  powerfully  to 
yield  it  to  the  roots  of  plants,  and  its  adhesive  attraction  for 
moisture  is  inconsiderable :  yet,  though  thus  opposed  by  sci- 
entific reasoning,  the  experience  of  farmers  inclines  to  the 
support  of  the  opinion  already  stated.  It  is  even  thought  by 
many  people  that,  when  sprinkled  over  the  leaves  of  plants  in 
a  damp  state,  the  paste  which  it  thus  forms  upon  them  must 
prove  destructive  to  the  propagation  of  many  insects,  and 
would  probably  prevent  the  fly  in  turnips ;  but  that  supposition 
has  not  been  confirmed  by  experience.  It  has  been  likewise 
asserted,  that  its  fertilizing  powers  are  destroyed  by  the 
effects  of  sea  air,  and  much  of  its  failure  in  many  parts  of - 
England  has  been  attempted  to  be  accounted  for  upon  that 
principle ;  but  this  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  trials  already 
mentioned  to  have  been  made  in  Kent,  and  it  has  been  found 
to  answer  in  Norfolk  when  applied  to  land  within  two  miles 
of  the  Northern  Ocean. 

The  American  farmers  lay  it  upon  land  newly  reclaimed 
from  the  forest :  it  may,  however,  be  doubted  whether  gypsum 
contains  any  inherent  property  by  which  it  can  improve  the 
soil,  unless  through  the  means  of  its  fertilizing  powers  upon 
the  peculiar  crops  to  which  it  is  appropriate,  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that,  even  upon  these,  its  effects  will  be  com- 
paratively trifling  if  ploughed  in.  There  cannot,  however,  be 
any  question  respecting  its  expediency  when  applied  as  a  top- 


124  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

dressing  to  artificial  grasses  at  that  period  of  the  spring  when 
the  plants  throw  out  their  first  leaves,  if  spread  in  portions  of 
not  less  tlian  four  hushels  of  the  finest  powder,  so  equally 
sprinkled  that  every  leaf  should  get  some,  and  in  weather  that 
is  perfectly  serene  and  close.  We  have  aflbrded  the  suhject 
more  attentive  consideration  than  some  persons  may  suppose 
it  to  merit,  for  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  in  consequence  of  the 
disappointment  which  it  has  occasioned  to  many  who  have 
tried  it  without  l)eing  aware  of  its  peculiar  nature,  the  use  of 
jwypsum  throughout  England  has  been  very  generally  discon- 
tinued; but  on  a  careful  review  of  the  very  contradictory 
opinions  entertained  regarding  its  effects,  we  are  persuaded 
tiiat  no  dispassionate  and  intelligent  farmer  can  entertain  any 
doubt  of  its  being  rendered  a  source  of  very  important  benefit, 
when  used  with  due  discrimination  of  its  powers,  and  judg- 
ment in  the  mode  of  its  application.  We  therefore  strenu- 
ously recommend  it  to  experiments  upon  a  modoj-ate  scale ;  for 
even  should  it  not  be  found  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood, 
the  cost  and  carriage  are  so  trifling  that  a  sufficient  trial  can 
be  made  for  a  few  shillings ;  and  we  should  say  that  no  man 
who  grows  a  single  acre  of  clover  should  fail  to  satisfy  him- 
self regarding  its  real  properties.  If  successful,  it  may  become 
the  means  of  material  improvement  upon  light  loams,  and  poor 
chalky  soils,  which  require  amelioration  through  the  manure 
afforded  by  green  crops,  as  well  as  to  land  which,  though  in 
better  heart,  may  have  lost  the  power  of  repeating  the  pro- 
duction of  clover  so  often  as  it  might  be  found  profitable.  No 
one  can  justly  assert  that  it  is  not  worth  the  trial ;  and,  even 
if  unattended  with  good  effect,  it  can  do  no  harm.  ' 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MINERAL    MANURES    CONTINUED. ASHES — SOOT — SOAPERs' 

WASTE. 

Ashes  of  every  description,  including  leached  ashes,  though 
not  all  falling  strictly  under  the  character  of  fossil  substances, 
and,  indeed,  being  partly  derived  from  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
yet,  partaking  in  a  great  degree  of  the  same  calcareous  nature  as 


ON  MANURBe.  125 

those  of  which  we  have  already  treated,  may  also  be  allowed 
to  rank  tog-ether  under  the  general  denomination  of  mineral 
manures.  Those  of  coal,  wood,  and  turf,  when  used  for  do- 
mestic purposes,  are,  in  almost  all  country  places,  mixed  up 
by  the  consumers  with  the  dung-hill,  and,  unless  they  form  an 
unusual  proportion  of  the  heap,  occasion  but  little  sensible  dif- 
ference in  the  properties  of  the  manure;  but,  when  applied 
alone,  as  top-dresshigs  upon  grass,  they  both  strengthen  the 
herbage,  improve  its  quality,  and  encourage  the  growth  of 
white  clover;  they  are  also  generally  used  for  many  other 
crops,  both  of  corn  and  artificial  grasses,  but  chiefly  upon 
clays  and  heavy  tenacious  loams. 

The  ashes  of  coals,  and  cinders,  have,  indeed,  the  very 
perceptible  effect  of  loosening  as  well  as  stimulating  those 
soils,  and  when  they  can  be  procured  in  sufficiently  large 
quantities,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  great  towns  and  manufac- 
tories, they  are  also  ploughed  in  with  great  advantage,  to  the 
extent  of  50  or  60  bushels,  or  even  more  of  the  latter,  per  acre. 

Those  of  wood,  which  forms  the  chief  firing  in  the  interior 
of  this  country,  are  also  largely  employed  by  many  farmers, 
who  contract  with  the  cottagers  for  all  the  ashes  they  make; 
drawing  home  for  them  in  return  their  faggots.  The  manure 
thus  procured,  being  a  powerful  alkali,  has  a  very  considerable 
effect  in  correcting  any  acidity  that  may  exist  in  the  soil,  but 
is,  in  almost  every  instance,  employed  without  any  distinction 
respecting  the  sort  of  timber  from  which  it  is  obtained,  though, 
as  the  trees  contain  very  different  qualities,  they  necessarily 
yield  ashes  corresponding,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  with 
their  original  character ;  and  were  they  classed,  and  farmers 
made  acquainted  with  their  relative  properties,  they  vvould  be 
much  better  able  to  judge  of  the  due  proportion  of  ashes  which 
it  might  be  expedient  to  apply  to  the  ground.* 

The  ashes  of  burnt  straw  have  also  been  found  beneficial 

*  It  is  a  well-ascertained  fact,  that  the  closer  the  texture  of  the  wood,  and 
the  harder  and  heavier  it  is,  the  greater  portion  of  vegetable  alkali  it  will  be 
found  to  contain.  Thus,  trees  maybe  ranged,  according  to  the  value  of  their 
ashes,  as  follows  :— Oak,  ash,  sweet  chestnut,  beech,  pear,  crab,  broom,  elm, 
maple,  the  pine  and  fir  tribes,  birch,  alder,  sycamore,  poplar,  hazel,  elder, 
and  willow.  It  therefore  necessarily  follows,  that  where  the  kind  of  timber 
which  has  been  consumed  can  be  ascertained,  the  proportion  of  ashes  to  be 
applied  per  acre  ought  to  vary  accordingly;  for  if  six  loads  of  the  best  and 
purest  ashes  from  oak  be  sufficient,  ten  or  twelve  may  not  be  more  than 
equivalent  to  them  when  produced  from  hazel,  alder,  or  willow ;  and  by  the 
same  rule,  if  ten  or  twelve  loads  of  oak-ashes  were  to  be  sown,  because  it 
may  have  been  the  custom  to  use  that  quantity  of  hazel,  &c.,  the  eflect 
might  be  found,  in  a  dry  season,  to  burn  up  the  crop 


126  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

by  many  intelligent  practical  farmers,  from  some  of  who^e 
experiments  we  select  the  following  instances.  Advantage 
was  taken  of  a  fine  day  to  fire  the  stubble  of  an  out-field  soon 
after  harvest,  the  precaution  having  been  previously  taken  of 
sweeping  round  the  boundary  to  prevent  injury  to  the  hedges. 
Tlie  operation  was  easily  performed,  by  simply  applying  a 
lio-ht  to  windward,  and  it  completely  destroyed  every  weed 
that  grew,  leaving  the  surface  completely  covered  with  ashes; 
and  the  following  crop,  which  was  wheat,  produced  full  five 
quarters  per  acre.  This  excited  further  experiment,  the  result 
of  which  was  that  in  a  following  season,  the  stubble  having 
been  partly  ploughed  in  according  to  the  common  practice,  and 
partly  burned,  and  the  land  sown  with  wheat,  the  crop  produced 
eight  bushels  per  acre  more  on  that  portion  which  had  been 
burned,  than  on  that  which  had  been  ploughed  in.  The  same 
experiment  was  repeated,  on  different  occasions,  with  similar 
results;  and  a  following  crop  of  oats  having  been  laid  down 
with  seeds,  the  clover  was  found  perfectly  healthy,  while  that 
portion  on  which  the  burning  of  the  stubble  had  been  omitted, 
was  choked  with  weeds.  It  must,  however,  be  recollected, 
that,  if  intended  to  have  a  decided  effect,  the  stubble  must  be 
lefl  of  a  considerable  length,  which  will  occasion  a  material 
deficiency  of  farm-yard  manure;  though  the  advantages  will 
be  gained  of  saving  the  cost  of  moving  the  stubbs,  the  seeds 
of  weeds  and  insects  will  be  considerably  destroyed,  and  the 
land  will  be  left  unimpeded  for  the  operation  of  the  plough. 

On  the  wolds  of  Lincolnshire,  the  practice  of  not  only  burning 
the  stubble,  but  even  the  straw  of  thrashed  grain,  has  been 
carried,  in  many  cases,  to  the  extent  of  four  to  six  loads  per 
acre ;  and,  as  it  is  described  in  the  Report  of  the  County,  has 
been  attended,  in  all  those  instances,  with  very  decidedly  good 
effect.  It  is  even  said  to  have  been  found  superior,  in  some 
comparative  trials,  to  yard-dung,  in  the  respective  rate  of  five 
tons  of  straw  to  ten  of  manure!  Although  placing  implicit 
faith  in  the  results  thus  stated,  we  cannot,  however,  but  feel 
strong  doubts  of  the  expediency  of  the  practice ;  for  we  should 
hesitate  to  recommend  any  measure  that  tended  to  reduce  the 
quantity  of  farm-yard  manure — the  application  of  which  is 
always  certain  and  always  durable,  whilst  the  most  decided 
advocates  for  the  burning  of  straw  are  compelled  to  admit 
that  its  effects  are  but  transitory.  Some  intelligent  farmers, 
indeed,  consider  the  benefit  to  arise  more  from  the  effect  of 
the  fire  in  the  destruction  of  weeds  and  insects  than  from  the 


ON  MANURES.  127 

small  quantity  of  ashes  that  are  produced,  and  its  chief  value 
,  must  be  supposed  to  consist  in  the  superior  degree  of  clean- 
ness which  it  imparts  to  the  land. 

Soot. — The  soot  produced  by  different  species  of  fuel  is 
subject  to  the  same  difference  in  quality  as  those  substances 
from  which  it  is  derived.  The  soot  accurately  collected  from 
fires  burnt  in  the  house  is  generally  good,  while  that  com- 
monly sold  by  the  chimney-sweepers  is  in  general  mixed  with 
dust  and  other  trash,  which  lessens  its  power. 

Soot  is  usually  sown  upon  wheat  if  it  be  weak,  or  if  the 
yellow  cast  which  it  sometimes  assumes  in  the  spring  shows 
it  to  be  sickly;  in  which  cases  it  will  improve  the  colour  and 
.'  trength  of  the  plant,  which  will  then  tiller  out  and  cover  the 
ground  with  a  great  number  of  new  shoots.  Upon  barley  it  is 
sometimes  sown  with  the  crop,  and  at  other  times  a  fortnight 
after ;  but  it  should  never  be  deferred  later,  and  if  possible, 
should  be  spread  in  April.  It  is  also  occasionly  applied  as  a 
top-dressing  to  clover  and  other  artificial  grasses,  though  it 
seems  better  suited  to  rye-grass  than  to  any  other  species,  for, 
when  both  that  and  clover  have  been  sown  together,  and  that 
the  field  has  been  dressed  with  soot,  the  former  has  become  so 
rank  as  to  completely  overtop  the  latter.  One  of  its  most 
common  uses  among  farmers  is,  however,  for  turnips,  either 
sown  along  with  the  seed,  or  more  usually,  immediately  after 
the  plants  appear,  as  it  is  so  acrid  and  bitter  as  to  become 
injurious  or  disgusting  to  insects,  and  has  therefore  been  found 
very  etficacious  in  preventing  the  ravages  of  the  fly,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  wire- worm.  The  best  time  to  sow  it  is  on  the 
evening  of  a  cloudy  but  calm  day,  when  there  is  an  appearance 
of  rain,  for  if  the  weather  be  hot  and  dry,  its  volatile  parts  are 
dispelled,  and  it  becomes  of  no  service  to  the  crop. 

Some  farmers  recommend  its  being  mixed  with  an  equal 
quantity  of  quicklime,  and  double  that  quantity  (of  those  two 
combined)  of  fresh  loam ;  the  soot  and  loam  to  be  regularly 
amalgamated  by  passing  the  latter  through  an  upright  screen, 
as  practised  by  bricklayers,  by  which  means  the  lumps  will  be 
either  kept  back,  or  broken  and  passed  through  it;  and  after 
remaining  in  this  state  during  almost  a  fortnight,  the  lime 
should  then  be  added  by  turning  the  heap  and  mixing  all 
together;  after  which  it  will,  in  a  few  weeks  more,  become  fit 
for  use.  The  materials  thus  enumerated  are  all  good,  and 
doubtless  will  prove  serviceable  to  those  soils  to  which  they 
are  adapted ;  but  we  are  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 
L 


128  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

experiments  which  have  been  made  upon  this  species  of  com- 
post to  speak  of  its  effects  with  any  degree  of  certainty;  and 
we  doubt  whether  the  most  beneficial  mode  of  applying  the 
soot  will  not  be  still  found  to  consist  in  spreading  it  in  a  dry 
state,  without  any  preparation  as  a  top-dressing.  As  an  apj)!!- 
cation  in  that  mode,  to  such  crops  as  we  have  mentioned,  it 
will  be  found  useful,  when  used  in  moderation,  upon  soils  of 
every  kind;  but  if  intended  to  be  applied  as  an  improvement 
to  the  land,  it  will  be  of  very  little  benefit  after  the  first  year. 

Soapers^  icaste.  (a) — The  use  of  the  ashes  produced  by  the 
manufacture  of  soap — the  refuse  of  which  is  termed  soapers' 
waste — has  been  much  recommended  as  manure ;  and  it  has 
been  supposed  that  its  efficacy  depends  on  the  proportion  of 
saline  matter  which  ii  contains :  this,  however,  is  very  minute, 
and  depends  upon  the  sort  of  alkali  employed  by  the  soap- 
boiler, two  kinds  of  which  are  chiefly  used — namely,  kelp  and 
barilla — which  are  much  more  effective  than  that  which  is  the 
refuse  of  common  pot-ash.  [In  this  country,  soap-boilers  use 
ordinary  wood-ashes  to  a  great  extent.  Their  waste  is,  in  our 
opinion,  of  little  value — certainly  none  to  our  farmers  in  the 
interior.  Leached  ashes  do  not  act  so  favourably  on  heavy 
clay  soils  as  on  those  of  a  lighter  and  more  sandy  character. 
We  have  seen  120  bushels  an  acre  used  with  better  effect 
than  nearly  twice  the  quantity  on  the  same  kind  of  soil] 

If  applied  in  large  quantities  to  the  land,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  soapers'  waste  will  be  found  to  be  a  useful  and 
lasting  manure ;  it  destroys  slugs  and  vermin  of  every  de- 
scription ;  has  been  found  to  increase  the  product  of  hay  by  a 
ton  an  acre ;  and  by  some  farmers  the  effect  of  a  wagon  load 
of  the  ashes  is  considered  equal  to  that  of  five  loads  of  rotten 
dung.  This  we,  however,  conceive  to  be  exaggerated,  if  they 
are  applied  separately ;  but,  if  laid  on  together,  we  have  wit- 
nessed some  recent  instances  which  lead  us  to  conclude,  that 
one  load  of  ashes,  combined  with  five  of  dung,  would  fully 
equal  ten  loads  of  farm-yard  manure  in  immediate  effect, 
besides  producing  more  permaner^t  improvement. 

(a)  [Soap,  as  a  manure,  is  beginning  to  aUract  attention.  A  series  of 
experiments,  not  as  yet  conclusive,  are  being  instituted  by  one  of  our  best 
practical  farmers.  So  far,  the  results  are  surprising.  Soapsuds,  soot,  and 
filth  in  general,  are  all  valuable  for  manure.  Yet  about  American  farms 
they  are  generally  wasted,  instead  of  being  placed  in  the  dung-yard.] 


ON  MANURES.  129 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MINERAL  MANURES  CONTINUED. PARING  AND  BURNING. 

Paring  and  burning  the  ground,  both  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting  nd  of  the  rank  vegetation  with  which  land  is  sometimes 
covered,  and  of  procuring  the  ashes  as  manure,  is  a  practice 
of  such  ancient  date,  as  to  have  been  known  to  the  Romans, 
and  has  been  immemorially  used  by  our  ancestors.  It  is, 
indeed,  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  through  the  inter- 
course of  the  Italians  with  our  southern  coasts,  and  to  have 
been  first  imparted  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall,  whence  it  acquired  the  name  of  denshiring. 
It  has  since  been  very  extensively  practised  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  throughout  the  continent;  yet 
there  is,  perhaps,  no  portion  of  our  husbandry,  the  merits  of 
which  have  given  rise  to  such  wide  difference  of  opinion.  It 
is,  however,  of  the  highest  importance  to  farmers  that  the 
principles  upon  which  it  Tests  should  be  clearly  understood; 
for,  on  soils  to  which  it  is  applicable,  and  on  farms  on  which  it 
can  be  carried  into  effect,  it  has  been  found,  when  managed 
with  judgment,  to  be  not  alone  an  effectual,  but  a  cheap  mode 
of  bringing  land  that  has  either  lain  waste  or  overgrown  with 
root-weeds  and  other  rubbish  into  a  good  state  of  cultivation : 
it  is,  therefore,  deserving  of  their  special  attention.  It  must 
also  be  observed,  that  although  this  mode  of  preparing  earth 
as  manure  is  very  commonly  confounded  with  that  of  burning 
clay,  yet  they  differ  in  this — that,  in  reducing  the  soil  to 
ashes,  it  is  supposed  that  much  of  its  fertilizing  properties 
must  be  dissipated,  and  all  kinds  of  earth  are  thus  burned;  but, 
when  burnt  by  the  process  of  slow  combustion,  it  is  presumed 
that  the  clay — to  which  the  operation  is  confined — retains  a 
larger  portion  of  its  vegetative  power,  and  also  has  a  greater 
mechanical  effect  upon  the  land.  We  shall,  therefore,  con- 
sider them  separately. 

Paring  implements. — There  are  various  modes  of  perform- 
ing this  operation,  by  which  the  green-sward  or  turf,  is  cut  in 
thin  slices  from  the  surface  of  the  land. 

Although  performed  by  manual  labour,  yet  such  is  the 
toughness  of  the  sward  in  marshy  ground,  that  horses  are 
often  employed ;  and  in  the  fens  of  Cambridgeshire  and  the 
neighbouring  counties,  there  is  a  plough  much  in  use,  that 


130  A  PRACTICAL.  TREATISE 

was  formerly  brought  from  Holland.  This  Dutch  paring 
plough  is  worked  by  a  pair,  and  sometimes  even  by  four 
horses:  it  was  originally  constructed  with  only  one  handle, 
from  the  hinder  part  of  which  projects  a  kind  of  crutch,  hori- 
zontally  disposed,  and  upon  this  the  holder  bears  with  his  left 
hand,  walking  upright.  From  the  same  handle  another  crutch 
projects  at  right  angles  with  the  former,  but  much  lower 
down ;  and  this  the  holder  uses  occasionally  with  his  right 
hand,  for  the  purpose  either  of  assisting  to  keep  the  plough 
steady,  or  to  turn  it  at  the  land's  end:  latterly,  however,  it 
has  been  commonly  made  with  stilts,  in  the  common  form 
Instead  of  a  foot,  or  wheel,  to  support  the  beam  of  the  plough, 
they  use  what  they  call  'a  scaife,'  which  is  a  circular  plate  ot 
iron  turning  constantly  round,  the  edges  of  which  are  steeled, 
and,  together  with  the  edge  of  the  share,  are  kept  very  sharp 
by  means  of  a  file,  which  the  ploughman  carries  with  him  for 
that  purpose,  for  the  share  goes  so  near  the  surface,  that  it 
meets  with  many  strong  roots  and  much  -coarse  grass,  which 
require  keen  instruments  to  cut  them.  The  wheel  coulter  is 
found  better  adapted  for  ploughing  among  the  rough  sedge  of 
those  marshes  than  the  sword  one,  and  an  appendage,  called 
'a  boy,'  is  likewise  sometimes  added  to  lap  in  the  rushes, 
which  it  does  effectually. 

In  some  parts  of  Berkshire  they  also  have  a  broad  share, — 
though  now  seldom  used, — the  frame-work  of  which  rests  upon 
a  pair  of  large  wheels,  commonly  the  old  fore-wheels  of  a 
wagon,  one  man  driving,  and  lifting  the  share  at  the  head- 
lands, while  another  rides  upon  the  frame,  between  the  stilts. 
It  is  drawn  by  four  horses,  and  being  four  feet  long  in  the 
share,  though  it  pares  or  hoes  the  ground  commonly  to  the 
depth  of  full  three  inches,  it  yet  goes  over  a  large  extent  of 
land. 

The  last  implement  to  mention,  and,  perhaps,  in  many  situa- 
tions the  best  for  the  purpose,  is  the  common  plough ;  for, 
by  using  it,  the  business  proceeds  with  greater  despatch,  and 
is  attended  with  less  expense  for  the  cutting  part,  though 
more  for  burning:  but  then  there  is  the  great  advantage  of 
having  much  of  the  soil,  which  is  not  burned,  pulverized  and 
prepared  for  the  ensuing  crops,  which  is  an  advantage  not 
attainable  in  the  other  method. 

The  operation  of  paring  with  the  common  plough  is,  how- 
ever, much  facilitated  by  the  addition  of  a  share,  of  two  feet  in 
width,  stripped  of  its  mould-board.     It  is  fixed  by  two  st-andard 


ON  MANURES.  131 

irons  to  the  beam  of  any  plough,  before  the  coulter;  in  light 
soils  it  saves  much  labour  in  the  cutting  of  pea,  tare,  bean,  and 
otlier  stubbles,  at  about  two  inches  below  the  surface ;  and  not 
turning  any  furrow,  it  leaves  the  weeds  and  roots  all  cut 
through,  fit  for  being  immediately  harrowed  out,  raked  into 
heaps,  and  burnt.  The  shim,  or  skim,  has  also  been  affixed 
as  an  additional  coulter,  in  a  peculiar  form,  to  a  plough  much 
used  in  Oxfordshire,  where  it  is  found  to  answer  the  double 
purpose  of  both  paring  and  ploughing.  The  tool  is  placed  as 
a  fore-coulter,  and  acts  upon  the  sod,  which  it  turns  up  from 
either  side  without  effort. 

Operation  of  Paring. — In  ploughing  turf,  for  it  can  hardly 
be  called  paring,  when  intended  for  burning,  there  are  various 
modes  adopted.  Some  plough  it  one  way,  and  then  cross- 
plough  it,  endeavouring  thereby  to  cut  it  up  in  square  cakes, 
and  others,  with  a  broad  stripping  share,  cut  the  sod  thin,  and 
turn  the  whole  over,  with  the  grass  downwards ;  this  is  done 
early  in  winter,  and,  after  lying  some  time,  the  land  is  either 
cross-ploughed  or  worked  with  the  tormentors,  then  harrowed, 
and  such  proportion  burnt  as  the  farmer  may  deem  expedient: 
some  burn  a  large  portion  of  the  earth,  and  others  little  beside 
the  roots  and  weeds.  A  second  method  is,  not  to  strip  the 
leys  clear,  but  to  leave  a  narrow  strip  of  ground  whole,  on 
which  the  furrow-slice  is  turned;  which  is  provincially  called 
in  different  places,  either  by  the  names  of  'furrow  and  comb,' 
'turning  to  rot,'  'ribbing,'  'raftering,'  or  'baulking.'  The 
third,  which  is  common  in  Cornwall,  when  there  is  not  time 
to  permit  the  sod  to  rot,  and  is  there  called  '  veiling,'  is  per- 
formed nearly  in  the  same  manner  as  the  former,  excepting 
that,  instead  of  being  turned  over,  the  furrow-slice  is  cut  with 
its  turf  upwards:  this  is  drawn  out  with  small  crooks  by 
women  and  boys,  or  harrowed,  then  raked  together  in  heaps, 
and  burned. 

Another  plan,  recommended  by  Mr.  Boys,  is,  when  the 
weather  is  set  in  dry  in  the  spring,  to  plough  the  sod  as  thin 
as  possible  (unless  it  be  a  very  old  piece  of  turf,  full  of  woody 
roots,  which  may,  in  such  case,  be  broken  up  a  tolerable 
depth)  in  baulks;  that  is,  to  turn  the  turf  the  contrary  way  to 
the  common  ploughing,  with  the  turnwrest-plongh,  laying  the 
land  in  narrow  ridges,  about  18  inches  in  width:  when  a  piece 
of  land  is  thus  gone  over,  it  should  be  harrowed  slightly  down, 
and  immediately  ploughed  in  the  same  manner  crossways,  at 
right  angles,  finishing  the  whole  by  splitting,  or  clearing  with 
t2 


132  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  plough,  these  last  made  ridges  down  the  middle.  By  har- 
rowing the  land  thus  prepared  afterwards  with  a  coarse  harrow 
once  over,  the  turf  will  he  nearly  all  brought  to  the  surface, 
and,  after  a  tew  dry  days,  be  in  a  good  state  for  burning,  at 
which  time  every  possible  expedition  should  be  used  to  get  it 
in  heaps  for  firing. 

Whatever  may  be  the  implements  chosen  for  performing 
the  operation  of  paring,  it  is  rarely  carried  into  effect  to  the 
depth  of  more  than  from  one  to  about  two,  or,  at  the  most, 
three  mches.  The  judgment  requisite  in  this  stage  of  the 
process  consists  chiefly  in  determining  the  proper  thickness  of 
the  sods.  If  they  be  pared  too  thick,  they  are  difficult  to 
burn ;  if  too  thin,  the  sward  is  not  effectually  destroyed,  and 
the  produce  of  the  ashes  is  too  small.  A  rough  spongy  surface 
ought  to  be  pared  thicker  than  one  which  is  firm  and  bare  of 
grass;  and  a  light,  shallow  soil  should  be  pared  thinner  than 
one  which  is  deeper  and  more  tenacious.  Should  the  soil  be 
clay  of  any  description,  the  paring  should  rarely  exceed  an 
inch  deep,  but  on  peaty  and  sandy  soils  it  may  be  carried 
deeper,  especially  if  the  land  be  rooty  and  fibrous ;  but  if  the 
soil  be  shallow,  it  cannot  be  cut  too  thin.  No  specific  direc- 
tions can,  however,  be  given  regarding  the  thickness  of  the 
sod,  for  it  must  be  clear  that,  on  the  coarse  ground  to  which 
the  process  is  best  suited,  the  main  object  to  be  held  in  view 
is  to  cut  so  deep  as  to  reach  the  roots  of  the  weeds ;  though 
some  farmers  carry  it  so  far  as  to  turn  up  a  large  portion  of 
the  earth,  which  plan  more  properly  belongs  to  that  of  burning 
clay,  which  will  be  treated  of  in  the  following  chapter.  The 
best  time  commences  about  the  opening  of  spring,  the  sharp 
winds  of  which  season  materially  forward  the  process  of  dry- 
ing; but  the  exact  period  must  of  course  depend  upon  weather, 
situation,  and  circumstances  which  suit  the  convenience  of  the 
farmer,  and  it  may  be  executed  at  any  period  of  the  year  from 
the  course  of  February  until  the  close  of  October. 

Operation  of  Burning. — The  inocess  of  burning  is  a 
critical  operation;  for  if  the  heaps  be  made  too  large,  or  if 
allowed  to  remain  too  long  unspread,  they  get  hold  of  the 
land,  and  if  not  carefully  watched  and  extinguished  in  time, 
the  fire  takes  such  an  effect  upon  the  land  that  its  force  is  apt 
to  char  the  ground  upon  which  tliey  are  made,  by  which 
means  those  spots  are  converted  into  brick,  and  thus  great 
trouble  and  expense  are  occasioned,  for  not  only  is  the  action 
of  the  plough  thereby  impeded,  but  great  unsightly  holes  are 


ON  MANURES.  I33 

formed  in  the  earth,  called  'pitting,'  which  become  retentive 
of  wet  and  injure  cultivation;  great  care  should  therefore  be 
taken,  to  guard  against  such  accidents,  by  which  much  injury 
has  been  in  many  places  done  to  the  soil. 

When  the  turf  is  dry  enough  to  burn,  it  is  often  placed  in 
large  heaps,  amounting  from  four  to  twenty  cart-loads  each,  or 
even  more,  carried  up  with  an  opening,  like  a  chimney,  in  the 
middle,  and  fired  by  means  of  faggots  of  furze,  or  any  other 
fuel  that  happens  to  be  most  convenient.  More  or  less  firing 
is  required  in  proportion  to  the  kindliness  of  the  soil  for  burn- 
ing, of  which  an  experienced  workman  can  easily  judge:  some 
sorts  are  easily  fired  by  a  few  red-hot  ashes  being  thrown  upon 
the  heap  and  instantly  covered  with  a  piece  of  turf;  \\hile 
others  require  a  faggot  or  two  of  wood,  and  no  small  degree 
of  discretion  in  disposing  it  properly.  The  best  method  of 
placing  the  turf  is  to  lay  it  as  close  as  possible,  in  order  to 
keep  out  any  draught  of  air  through  the  heap,  as  otherwise 
the  force  of  the  fire  is  apt  to  escape  outwardly,  and  a  partial 
burning  only  effected.  The  fire  should  also  be  applied  to  the 
sheltered  side  of  the  heaps ;  but  if  the  sods  lie  close,  and  the 
fire  is  kept  in  by  stopping  any  places  where  it  breaks  through, 
and  covering  the  whole  with  fine  mould  and  ashes,  after  the 
fire  is  thoroughly  alight,  it  never  fails  to  burn  well :  even  if 
heavy  showers  fall,  the  great  mass  of  burning  matter  will 
convert  almost  any  quantity  of  rain  into  vapour. 

Such  is  the  Kentish  practice;  and  this  smothering  process 
is  recommended  by  most  of  the'writers  on  manure,  because 
the  vegetable  matter  of  which  these  ashes  are  chiefly  formed 
is  supposed  to  be  thereby  converted  into  a  carbonaceous  sub- 
stance of  a  more  fertilizing  nature  than  when  burned  by  a 
quick  fire.  In  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  where  paring 
and  burning  has  been  very  extensively  and  successfully  prac- 
tised, it  is  usual  to  pare  the  sods  as  thin  as  possible,  and,  so 
soon  as  they  are  moderately  dry,  to  collect  thern  partially  into 
heaps,  four  or  five  yards  distant  from  each  other,  terming  them 
into  a  half-cone.  In  this  state  fire  is  applied  to  each  heap,  but 
it  is  prevented  from  breaking  out  into  a  flame  by  smothering 
it  up  with  the  remainder  of  the  sods.  As  much  burning  is 
considered  to  be  very  injurious  to  the  success  of  the  operation, 
the  best  cultivators  open  out  these  heaps,  when  half  burned, 
with  a  shovel,  and  spread  ^\'hat  is  then  converted  into  ashes 
equally  over  the  land.  The  heaps  well  on  fire,  fresh  sods  ar ) 
'aid  from  time  to  time,  until  the  whole  are  expended  ;  the 


134  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

outsides,  which  remain  unburnt,  are  then  ag-ain  heaped  tip 
whilst  sufficiently  on  fire  to  be  consumed.  Thus  all  the  soda 
are  burned  equally,  but  as  lig'htly  as  they  can  be  to  be  reduced 
to  ashes. 

In  some  instances  circular  heaps  have  been  formed  over 
laro-e  roots  to  the  extent  of  54.  feet  by  20,  and  found  com- 
pletely successful.  The  manner  of  forming  these  clamps  was 
thus: — a  quantity  of  large  roots  was  laid  upon  the  ground,  and 
inclosed  by  a  wall  of  sods  three  or  four  feet  high,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  each  side  wall  were  six  openings,  about  twenty 
inches  square,  in  which  faggots  were  laid,  so  as  to  connect 
with  the  roots.  When  the  inclosure  was  filled  with  sods,  and 
the  clamp  raised  to  the  height  of  eight  feet,  twelve  fires  were 
all  kindled  at  the  same  time,  and,  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours, 
the  whole  mass,  containing  400  cart-loads,  was  entirely  burnt 
through  to  the  top;  by  wiiich  mode  of  burning  it  has  been 
computed  that  the  ashes  cost  no  more  than  threepence  per 
cart-load  of  sixteen  bushels. 

The  most  common  method,  indeed,  is  to  form  the  heaps 
about  a  yard  in  diameter,  like  small  hay-cocks,  a  few  yards 
apart,  the  sods  set  edgeways,  with  a  bough  of  furze  at  the 
bottom,  covered  with  some  of  the  driest  turf,  keeping  the  sods 
on  the  inside  as  hollow  as  may  be,  but  laying  them  fiat  and 
close  on  the  outside  to  keep  in  the  heat.  The  heaps  made  in 
this  manner  are  kindled  usually  with  a  link  made  of  tow 
dipped  in  tar,  and  wound  round  a  small  stake,  the  lighter 
running  along  the  rows  from  heap  to  heap,  and  lighting  them. 
Some  skill  is  requisite  in  their  formation,  for,  if  the  heaps  be 
made  too  large  at  first,  their  own  weight  crushes  them  down, 
and  destroys  the  necessary  openness  of  the  inner  side,  while, 
if  too  small,  the  fire,  not  being  sufficiently  confined,  flies  out- 
ward, and  spends  itself  prematurely ;  yet,  if  the  sods  in  the 
small  heaps  are  damp,  the  force  of  the  fires  is  so  soon  ex- 
tinguished, that  heaps  of  four  and  five  cart-loads  have  been 
found  insufficient;  and  to  this  want  of  precaution  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  ashes  has  been  partly  attributed  the  defects 
which  some  persons  have  assigned  to  the  practice  itself  Yet 
the  weather  is  sometimes  so  unfavourable  that  means  must 
necessarily  be  taken  for  increasing  the  heat  of  the  fires,  for 
which  purpose  a  very  simple  apparatus  has  been  contrived  in 
Scotland.  It  is  put  together  with  merely  a  few  small  old  iron 
hoops,  the  halves  of  which  are  placed  so  close  together  as  to 
prevent  the  sods  from  falling  through,  and  riveted  to  iron  rods 


ON  MANURES.  jgg 

which  lie  leng-thwise  upon  the  ground :  thus  forming-  a  sort  of 
portable  furnace,  about  four  feet  long,  so  light  that  a  boy  can 
carry  it;  and  when  turf  is  laid  upon  it,  an  opening  is  left 
through  the  hoops,  which  increases  the  current  of  the  air. 

When  the  land  is  much  covered  with  heath  and  furze,  the 
operation  of  paring,  wiiich  turns  the  sod  upside  down,  keeps 
the  turf  raised  so  tar  above  the  ground  that,  in  fine  weather, 
it  readily  dries  sufficiently,  and  is  fi-equently  burnt  in  that 
state.  This  is  a  saving  of  trouble  and  expense ;  the  ashes  are 
also  thereby  spread  more  equably,  and  the  fire  operates  over 
the  entire  surface  of  the  soil,  which,  if  anything  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  effect  of  heat,  may  be  benefited  by  this  mode 
of  application.  Thus,  in  a  course  of  experiments  made  upon 
a  farm  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  the  sward  was  burnt 
all  over  the  surface  in  the  state  in  which  it  was  left  when 
pared ;  when,  without  any  further  culture,  or  seed,  a  sponta- 
neous plant  of  luxuriant  grass  sprang  up,  and  afterwards  con- 
tinued permanent,  upon  black  peat-earth,  which  formerly  pro- 
duced nothing  but  heath  and  ling-.  Similar  experiments  have 
been  since  tried  with  equal  success,  by  only  adding  the  seeds 
of  white  clover,  trefoil,  rye-grass,  rib-grass,  nonsuch,  or  any 
of  the  other  grasses  commonly  intended  to  produce  pasture, 
and  merely  harrowing  them  in  without  any  ploughing". 

The  improvement  of  the  bogs  by  the  operation  cf  paring 
and  burning  in  Ireland,  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Curwen: 
'Round  a  space  from  six  to  ten  feet  in  diameter,  a  trench  of  a 
foot  deep,  and  of  the  same  width,  is  dug,  the  soil  from  which 
is  laid  on  the  adjoining  surface  of  equal  breadth.  Beyond  this 
another  circle  of  sods  is  taken  out,  and  laid  to  dry  in  the  same 
manner;  and  thus  the  work  proceeds,  until  the  quantity  dug, 
with  that  which  is  left  undisturbed  for  a  floor,  is  as  much  as 
can  be  properly  burnt  on  the  space  in  the  centre.  As  soon  as 
the  sods  are  sufficiently  dry  some  are  gathered  together,  the 
heap  is  set  on  fire,  and  additions  are  made  of  wet  and  dry 
sods  from  time  to  time,  so  as  to  keep  a  regular,  moderate,  and 
smothered  fire,  in  proportion  to  the  attention  paid  to  which 
particulars  the  husbandman  is  rewarded  by  the  quantity  of 
potatoes  he  will  procure.' 

Effects  of  paring  and  burning. — The  quantity  of  ashes 
thus  made  necessarily  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  veg'eta- 
ble  matter  which  lies  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil,  as  well  a3 
that  of  the  earth,  and  the  depth  from  which  it  is  extracted. 
When  the  object  is  merely  to  burn  whatever  is  growing  upon 


136  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  land,  without  mingling-  it  with  the  earth,  the  ground  is 
then  well  harrowed  after  it  has  been  pared,  and  the  loose  stuff 
being  raked  up  and  burned,  generally  produces  only  from  >M) 
to  50  bushels,  which  can  hardly  be  considered  in  any  other 
light  than  as  a  cleansing  to  the  soil ;  except  that,  when  much 
nnxed  with  brushwood,  their  roots  render  the  ashes  of  stronger 
quality.  But  it  is  seldom  confined  within  such  bounds ;  and, 
when  performed  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  upon  rough 
ground  of  medium  quality,  to  the  depth  of  about  two  inches, 
the  operation  has  been  known  to  produce  from  forty  to  fifty 
cart-loads  of  40  bushels  each,  or  from  2000  to  2-100  bushels 
per  acre. 

The  expense  of  paring  and  burning  has  been  variously 
calculated,  and  depends  upon  so  many  different  circumstances, 
that  it  is  impossible  to  form  a  precise  estimate  for  any  other 
than  a  particular  case ;  for  not  only  must  the  soil  on  which 
the  operation  is  to  be  performed  be  considered,  but  also  the 
kind  of  instruments  and  the  skill  of  the  workmen  employed, 
the  season,  and  the  rate  of  wages,  which  generally  bear  a  pro- 
portion to  that  of  horse-labour. 

Except  on  fen  lands,  the  practice  of  paring  and  burning  is 
mostly  confined  to  poor  districts,  consisting  of  chalky  downs, 
and  wastes  covered  with  heath  and  fern,  or  any  rough  land 
whatever,  which  is  intended  to  be  brought  immediately  into 
cultivation ;  the  advantages  attending  which  are  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Boys  in  the  treatise  to  which  we  have  already  alluded. 

When  old  downs,  heaths,  or  sheep-walks  of  a  calcareous 
basis  of  soil,  are  pared  and  burned  early  in  the  summer,  and 
the  land  twice  ploughed,  however  poor  the  soil  may  be,  it 
becomes  a  fine  tilth  for  turnips ;  the  production  ot  a  full  crop 
of  which  upon  such  lands,  where  they  have  never  before  been 
seen,  and  where  they  could  hardly  by  any  other  means  be 
obtained,  is  of  such  great  benefit  both  to  the  farmer  and  to  the 
soil,  that  it  would  be  needless  to  say  any  more  in  recommenda- 
tion of  the  process,  were  it  not  necessary  for  the  information 
of  those  who  are  not  acurately  acquainted  with  the  advantage 
to  be  derived  from  turnips  in  poor  countries. 

We  have  the  authority  of  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  for  saying 
that  "all  the  advantages  here  spoken  of  he  has  ever  witnessed 
to  follow  the  processes  of  paring  and  burning,  however  poor 
and  rough;  but  the  like  texture  (thin  and  poor)  of  soil  con- 
taining very  little,  if  any,  calcareous  matter,  that  is,  wild  lime, 


ON  MANURES.  137- 

or  chalk,  had  not  the  like  benefit — on  the  contrary,  appeared 
injured  by  the  effects  of  the  burning." 

The  success  of  paring  and  burning  may,  indeed,  be  justly 
said  to  depend  entirely  on  the  nature  of  the  land.  Wherever 
the  soil  is  already  too  light, — as  in  the  case  of  most  downs, — . 
burning  tends  to  make  it  lighter,  and  is  then  evidently  wrong; 
but  on  clays  and  heavy  loams,  its  effects' can  hardly  tail  to  i}e 
beneficial.  In  the  particular  instance  of  burning  land  intended 
to  be  returned  again  to  pasture,  it  is,  however,  indispensable 
to  observe  whether  the  practice  has  been  proved,  in  that  part 
of  the  country,  to  be  favourable  to  the  future  production  of 
natural  grasses;  for,  on  some  soils,  it  is  so — on  others  it  is  not. 

Old  worn-out  sainfoin,  and  foul  couchy  leys  of  every  de- 
scription, may  thus  be  speedily,  economically,  and  thoroughly 
cleansed  at  far  less  trouble  and  expense  than  by  any  other 
method  ;  and  it  is  the  only  effectual  mode  of  bringing  fen  land 
under  immediate  cultivation  with  any  prospect  of  success.  On 
sainfoin  leys  and  chalky  downs,  the  best  course  is  to  com- 
mence with  turnips,  fed  off  and  repeated,  so  as  to  put  the  land 
in  good  heart  before  taking  a  crop  of  barley,  with  seeds  to 
stand  two  years;  for  on  those  very  light  soils  two  green  crops 
should  always  be  taken  for  one  of  corn,  and,  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years,  the  land  should  be  again  laid  down  with  sainfoin ; 
but  care  should  then  be  taken  not, to  let  it  become  covered 
with  a  coarse  sward  of  natural  pasture,  which  may  occasion 
the  necessity  of  repeating  the  operation. 

Cold,  clayey  land,  covered  with  a  coarse  sward,  may  be 
pared  deeper;  but  the  operation  will  be  found  useless,  if  it  be 
not  thoroughly  drained  and  laid  dry.  It  is  then  very  com- 
monly sown  with  oats;  for  turnips,  even  if  the  land  be  suffi- 
ciently light  to  admit  of  their  growth,  are,  on  such  soils,  found 
to  be  uncertain  as  a  first  crop,  and  the  oats  are  generally  very 
productive.  The  more  judicious  farmers,  however,  lime  the 
land  immediately  after  the  ashes  are  spread,  and  intermix  both 
minutely  with  the  soil,  by  ploughing  it  three  times,  and  har- 
rowing it  sufficiently  between  each  ploughing.  But  in  this 
case  it  is  necessary  to  plough  with  a  very  shallow  furrow,  as, 
if  buried  deep,  the  effect  is  in  a  great  measure  lost.  They 
then  sow  cole  as  a  first  crop,  and  afterwards  farm  the  land  in 
such  rotations  as  the  nature  of  the  ground  will  permit:  but 
whatever  may  be  the  course  pursued,  the  whole  of  the  green 
crops  should  be  eaten  off  upon  the  ground ;  or  if  the  stock  be 
soiled,  the  entire  of  the  manure  thus  made,  together  with  that 


138  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

arising-  from  the  straw  of  the  corn  crops,  should  be  invariably 
applied  to  the  land. 

Apjdicatioii. — It  is  obvious  that  in  all  cases  the  operation 
of  paring"  and  burning"  must  destroy  a  certain  portion  of  vegeta- 
ble substance,  and  it  therefore  can  only  be  really  useful  where 
an  excess  of  this  matter  exists  in  the  soil  in  a  dormant  state ; 
for  the  accumulation  of  rank  herbage  and  woody  fibre,  with 
which  some  land  is  overrun,  can  only  be  slowly  reduced  to  a 
state  of  mould  when  left  to  the  process  of  natural  decomposi- 
tion ;  nor  is  it  easily  brought  into  a  fit  state  for  the  immediate 
purposes  of  cultivation,  even  by  the  application  of  lime. 
Burning-  has  also  the  eflect  of  rendering  clayey  land  more 
friable  in  its  texture,  and  consequently  not  alone  better  for 
tillage,  but  also  less  retentive  of  water;  for  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained, that  when  clay  has  been  burnt,  its  tendency  to  absorb 
moisture  from  the  atmosphere  has  been  reduced  in  the  propor- 
tion of  7  to  2*.  Thus  the  process,  if  judiciously  conducted, 
may  change  a  soil  which  was  tenacious,  wet,  and  cold,  into 
one  partaking  of  the  opposite  qualities,  and  therefore  better 
adapted  to  vegetation.  The  soils  to  which  it  is  prejudicial  are 
tliose  consisting  principally  of  sand  and  flint,  consequently, 
containing  little  vegetable  matter;  for  it  destroys  that  which 
is  already  in  too  small  a  proportion  to  secure  the  productive- 
ness of  the  land.  But  pafing  alone,  without  burning,  may  be 
safely  practised  on  such  soils,  when  they  contain  root  weeds, 
and  coarse  herbage  of  difficult  decomposition ;  provided  the 
surface  be  then  harrowed,  so  as  to  separate  it  from  the  earth, 
and  mixed  with  quick-hme,  together  with  the  scourings  of  the 
neighbouring  ponds  and  ditches,  or  clay,  if  it  can  be  conveni- 
ently procured,  to  form  a  compost. 

The  following  may  be  assumed  as  a  summary  of  the  best 
practice: — Istly.  To  drain  the  land  perfectly,  and  to  lay  it 
dry,  before  commencing  the  operation.  2dly.  To  regulate  the 
depth  of  the  paring  by  the  nature  of  the  turf,  and  the  thick- 
ness of  the  mat  of  coarse  sward.  3dly.  To  burn  the  turf 
slowly,  but  completely,  so  as  to  reduce  the  whole  to  ashes ; 
yet  carefully  to  guard  against  allowing  the  fire  to  take  such 
hold  of  the  ground  under  the  heaps,  as  to  harden  it  into  pits. 
4thly.  To  spread  the  ashes  upon  a  shallow  ploughing,  and  as 
fresh  as  possible — even  hot ;  as  they  operate  more  powerfully 
in  a  caustic  state  than  afterwards.     5thly.  To  mix  lime  in  a 

♦Sir  H.  Davy,  Elem.  of  Agric.  Chem.,  4to.  p.  21. 


ON  MANURES.  X39 

moderate  proportion  with  the  ashes,  if  the  land  be  clayey;  as 
in  this  species  of  soil,  the  deficiency  of  calcareous  matter 
renders  it  essential  to  the  purposes  of  vegetation,  and  the  two 
manures  assist  each  other.  6thly.  To  sow  the  seeds  as 
promptly  as  may  be  convenient  after  the  ashes  have  been 
spread  and  ploughed  in.  7thly.  To  commence  the  cultivation 
(if  the  time  of  the  year  and  other  circumstances  will  permit) 
w^ith  turnips  or  cole;  but  if  oats  or  barley  be  taken  as  a  first 
crop,  to  follow  it  with  two  successive  green  crops;  and  never 
to  sow  wheat  until  the  land  be  brought  into  a  fine  tilth,  and 
perfectly  clean.  Sthly.  To  apply  the  whole  of  the  manure  pro- 
duced by  the  crops  to  the  ground,  and  to  manage  it,  generally, 
in  the  usual  course  of  regularly-cultivated  arable  land. 

If  these  rules  be  strictly  adhered  to,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  paring  and  burning  will  be  found  advantageous  on  all 
soils  of  the  kind  we  have  described  as  adapted  for  the  opera- 
tion ;  but,  although  neither  coinciding  in  the  odium  which  has 
been  cast  upon  it  by  some  writers,  nor  in  the  praises  with 
which  it  has  been  loaded  by  others,  and  only  viewing  it  as  a 
means  of  clearing  ground  which  is  encumbered  with  dormant 
matter,  and  thus  stimulating  the  inert  powers  of  vegetation, 
we  by  no  means  recommend  it  to  repetition ;  for,  if  the  land  be 
properly  managed,  it  can  never  afterwards  become  so  foul  as 
to  require  the  surface  to  be  pared. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MINERAL    MANURES   CONTINUED. BURNT   CLAY. 

The  burning  of  clay,  for  manure,  is  an  invention  which  has 
been  attributed  to  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  and  is  supposed  not  to 
have  been  adopted  in  England  until  about  the  year  1730 ;  but 
it  was  known  in  this  country  at  a  far  more  distant  period,  and 
has  been  mentioned  m  some  very  old  tracts  on  agriculture,  in 
one  of  which,  published  more  than  a  century  ago,  under  the 
title  of '  The  Practical  Farmer,  or  the  Hertfordshire  Husband- 
man,' the  method  of  preparing  and  applying  it  to  the  land  is 
described  in  a  manner  which  diifers  but  little  from  the  present 
practice.  In  '  The  Country  Gentleman's  Companion,'  printed 
M 


140  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

in  London,  in  the  year  1732,  there  are  also  two  engravings 
of  kilns  for  burning  clay,  with  several  letters  from  various 
persons,  statino-  that  the  plaii  had  succeeded  in  many  places 
in  both  England  and  Scotland ;  and  that,  in  experiments  made 
in  the  latter  country,  it  had  been  found  preferable  to  either 
lime  or  dung,  but  too  expensive.  In  the  North  of  Ireland  it 
has  also  been  carried  on  time  out  of  mind,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  bogs,  where  fuel  is  accessible,  the  manure  which  it 
affords  is  cheap  and  inexhaustible,  and  the  power  of  cropping 
is  thus  extended  beyond  what  could  otherwise  be  practicable. 
An  essay  has  been  written  by  Mr,  Burrougiis,  describing  its 
good  effects  in  very  warm  terms:  many  other  treatises  have 
likewise  been  published  upon  the  subject ;  and  the  gold  medal 
of  the  Society  of  Arts  was,  not  many  years  since,  awarded  to 
Dr.  Cartvvright  for  his  experiments. 

The  practice,  however,  fell  into  considerable  disuse,  until  it 
was  revived,  in  the  year  1815,  by  some  letters  in  the  'Farmer's 
Magazine,'  and,  still  more  recently,  by  the  account  given  by 
General  Beatson  of  the  process,  and  its  consequences,  on  his 
farm  in  Sussex,  in  which  he  describes  the  efficacy  of  calcined 
clay,  when  compared  with  either  lime,  dung,  wood-ashes,  or 
peat  and  dung,  as  equal,  and  in  some  instances  superior,  to 
any  of  those  manures.  This  has  been  followed  by  two  other 
publications, — one  at  York,  and  the  other  at  Ipswich, — each 
nearly  supporting  the  same  principle  by  arguments  drawn 
from  practical  proofs ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been,  in  many 
cases,  sanctioned  by  the  experience  of  extensive  farmers. 

Mr.  Burroughs,  after  detailing  the  diflerence  in  the  chemi- 
cal qualities  of  burned  earth,  says  that  'lime  being  established 
as  a  valuable  application  to  many  soils,  it  would  be  no  easy 
matter  to  persuade  those  who  have  not  tried  the  former  as  a 
substitute,  that  it  possesses  more  fertilizing  properties;  but, 
then,  experience,  by  which  all  must  be  governed,  has  con- 
vinced me  that  burned  earth  is  by  far  more  valuable,  on  many 
soils,  than  lime.  I  have  tried  it  on  strong  clays,  on  light 
soils,  and  on  moory  soils,  on  all  of  which  it  produced  good 
crops  of  potatoes  and  turnips,  and  afterwards  corn ;  and  in  one 
instan'ce  in  particular,  where  lime  had  been  ineffectually 
applied,  a  dressing  of  burned  clay  made  the  land  yield  most 
abundantly.  Lime  only  stimulates  and  pulverizes  the  soil, 
whereas  burned  earth  not  only  possesses  those  properties,  but 
contains  within  itself  enriching  and  vegetative  qualities.' 

He  then  adds,  that  '  burned  earth  may  be  depended  upon  as 


ON  MANURES.  141 

a  manure  fit  to  produce  abundant  turnip  crops,  of  every  de- 
scription, on  a  variety  of  soils;  even  the  Swedes,  so  difficult  to 
g-rovv  on  light  land,  will  prove  a  more  luxuriant  crop  with  this 
manure  than  with  farm-yard  dung-,  and  are  less  liable  to  be 
cut  off  by  the  fly.  It  may  be  supposed  by  some  that  any  crop 
sown  on  this  manure  would  be  precarious  in  dry  seasons,  not 
containing,  as  they  may  conceive,  any  enriching  quality  or 
properties  to  preserve  moisture :  but  this  is  by  no  means  the 
case,  for  it  will  be  found  that  an  application  of  burned  earth 
makes  the  land  on  which  it  is  applied  more  capable  of  absorb- 
ing moisture  from  the  atmosphere;  and,  by  minutely  dividing 
the  soil,  the  roots  of  plants  can  search  more  freely  for  nourish- 
ment. I  have  often  observed  that  farm-yard  dung,  unless  very 
well  prepared,  does  not,  in  excessive  dry  seasons,  supply  suffi- 
cient moisture  to  the  roots  of  plants;  and  that,  during  such 
seasons,  crops  sown  on  ashes,  or  burned  earth,  have  uniformly 
thriven,  while  those  in  dunged  land  have  gradually  declined,' 

General  Beatson's  farm — which  consists  of  300  acres,  120 
of  which  are  arable — was  managed  for  some  years  previous  to 
his  death  under  an  entirely  novel  system  of  culture.  The  plan 
on  which  it  had  been  previously  conducted  was  so  unprofitable, 
that  he  had  determined  on  abandoning  the  farm  altogether, 
when  his  attention  w^as  attracted  to  a  small  inclosure,  where 
he  had  four  burnt  clay  experiments,  around  which  was  a  space 
unmanured,  and  beyond  it  all  the  rest  of  the  field  manured 
with  rotten  dung  at  the  rate  of  forty  loads  per  acre,  the  whole 
carefully  scarified,  harrowed,  and  drilled,  exactly  in  the  same 
manner.  Those  clay  experiments  not  only  maintained  a  very 
striking  superiority  during  the  growth  of  three  successive 
crops — the  first  being  a  mixture  of  tares  and  oats,  and  the 
second  and  third  wheat ;  but  where  also  perfectly  clean,  whilst 
the  dunged  part  was  absolutely  choked  with  weeds :  they  had 
eacii  respectively  at  the  rate  of  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty 
cart-loads  of  the  ashes  per  acre.  This  gave  rise  to  his  subse- 
quent practice,  which,  according  to  his  account,  he  continued 
with  complete  success  for  upwards  of  six  years,  during  which 
time  the  entire  of  his  arable  land  was  manured  with  the  ashes 
cf  burnt  clay,  his  farm  dung  being  solely  applied  to  his  hop- 
grounds,  and  a  few  acres  of  potatoes. 

Analysis. — The  term  '  burned  eartW  may  be  understood  as 
implying  any  species  of  soil  capable  of  being  dried  up  by 
excessive  heat.  Moory  and  light  sandy  soils,  being  deficient 
in  tenacity,  cannot,  however,  be  so  applied  with  advantage; 


142  A   PRAC  riCAL  TREATISE 

but  clay,  of  all  sorts,  and  strong  loams,  are  well  adapted  to  the 
purpose.  It  has,  however,  been  observed  by  Mr,  Burroughs, 
'that  this  mode  of  preparmg  earth,  as  a  manure,  is  upon  a 
principle  very  different  from  that  of  reducing  it  to  aslies;  and 
thougi)  the  effect  produced  on  the  land  to  which  it  is  applied 
may  be  apparently  the  same,  yet  the  torrified'  (dried  by  fire, 
or  scorched)  'substance,  is  by  far  more  permanent.  The 
chemical  difference  in  their  preparation  is  this : — In  reducing 
tlie  soil  to  ashes,  much  of  its  fertilizing  properties  are  dissi- 
pated, and  its  vegetable  matter  destroyed;  but,  when  only 
torrified,  those  properties  are  preserved,  and  its  vegetable  mat- 
ter only  reduced  to  a  state  more  valuable  as  the  food  of  plants.' 

'There  are  two  sorts  of  burned  earth, — 1st,  that  which  is 
obtained  from  the  surface,  of  which  we  have  already  treated; 
and,  2ndly,  that  which  is  dug  from  the  sub-soil.'  'Sub-soil, 
calculated  for  this  purpose,  may  be  said  to  be  of  two  kinds,  viz., 
adhesive  clay,  and  calcareous  earth:  the  former  seldom  pos- 
sessing any  fertilizing  properties  in  its  natural  state;  but  the 
latter  is,  even  in  that  state,  generally  a  valuable  substance. 
As  alteratives  to  the  soil,  tliey  may  be  good  applications,  if 
appropriately  applied,  and  may  produce  fertility  accordingly; 
but  by  putthig  them  through  a  process  of  torrefaction,  how- 
ever naturally  deficient  in  fertilizing  properties,  they  can  be 
converted  into  valuable  manures,' 

Mr.  Naismith  also  says,  'that  when  cohesive  earth  has 
undergone  this  operation,  and  is  afterwards  reduced  to  powder, 
all  its  tendency  to  coherence  is  lost,  and  its  particles  lie  com- 
pact, without  uniting.  It  seems  to  have  the  perfect  consist- 
ence of  a  fertile  soil;  for  corn  springs  quickly,  and  tillers 
abundantly  on  it;  and  if  a  little  dung-juice  be  given  from  time 
to  titne,  it  will  grow  luxuriantly  to  maturity.  It  has  also  a 
strong  tendency  to  promote  fertility  when  applied  to  other 
soils ;  and  even  a  very  slight  torrefaction  of  the  soil  has  a 
great  effect. 

Effects  of  burnt  clay. — From  this  we  should  be  led  to  con- 
clude that  a  very  material  difference  would  be  found  to  exist 
in  earth  thus  merely  dried;  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its 
properties  must  depend  upon  the  quantity  of  vegetative  matter 
which  it  contains.  But  it  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between 
this  process  of  torrefaction  and  that  which  consists  in  burning 
the  earth  to  ashes:  for  if  the  clay  be  merely  dried,  the  next 
rains  will  reduce  it  back  to  its  former  state,  by  which  the  soil 
cannot  be  benefited  ;   and  if  the  fire  be  advanced  to  a  degree 


ON  MANURES.  I43 

much  stronger,  it  will  probably  have  the  effect  of  consuming 
the  earth  to  ashes,  in  the  qualities  of  which  no  perceptible 
difference  will  be  found.  In  the  latter  state,  indeed,  we  are 
strongly  of  opinion  that  its  effects  are  purely  mechanical — 
acting  upon  heavy  soils  me^ly  by  correcting  their  tenacity, 
and  rendering  them  less  stubborn ;  but  this  will  doubtless  con- 
tribute greatly  to  their  fertility,  though  it  cannot  be  considered  - 
as  a  nutritive  manure. 

The  stress  which  has  been  laid  upon  the  supposed  value  of 
some  kinds  of  burned  clay,  in  consequence  of  the  calcareous 
matter  contained  in  the  subsoil,  is  probably  overrated ;  for  it  is 
seldom  found,  in  soils  of  that  description,  in  such  abundance 
as  to  be  of  much  service  as  a  manure  to  other  lands.  We 
learn,  indeed,  from  an  experiment  of  General  Beatson,  that 
when  even  the  surface  soil  has  been  burned,  no  difference  was 
found  between  the  effects  of  that,  although  containing  vegeta- 
tive matter  in  the  sward,  and  the  ashes  of  common  clay; 
though  the  quantity  applied  was  perhaps  too  small  to  warrant 
any  positive  conclusion.  We,  therefore,  think  that  the  ideas 
which  have  been  entertained  of  the  effects  of  this  manure, 
are  rather  too  sanguine;  and  we  are  decidedly  of  opinion  that 
the  expectations  of  those  of  its  advocates  who  imagine  that 
'burnt  clay  will  supersede  the  dung-cart'  will  be  disappointed. 
It  appears,  indeed,  from  a  more  recent  essay  by  Mr,  Bur- 
roughs, on  the  cultivation  of  white  crops,  that  he  has  not  been 
so  well  satisfied  of  its  good  effects  as  to  persist  in  its  use 
instead  of  farm-yard  manure;  for  although  we  there  find  him 
recommending  the  use  of  the  latter,  he  yet  makes  no  allusion 
to  burned  clay.  In  Scotland,  also,  where  the  burning  of  clay 
was  a  few  years  ago  very  extensively  practised,  we  learn  that 
it  has  since  fallen  into  considerable  disuse.  There  can,  how- 
ever, be  no  doubt  that  clay  ashes  may  be  beneficially  used  ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  from  past  experience  that  they  can  preclude 
the  use  of  lime  on  soils  not  formerly  dressed  with  it. 

We  make  no  apology  for  the  length  of  these  extracts,  for 
the  subject  is  of  great  importance,  and  although  we  entertain 
doubts  of  the  accuracy  of  the  inferences  drawn  from  the  experi- 
ments by  some  writers,  yet  that  should  not  prevent  any  farmer 
who  possesses  the  means,  of  satisfying  himself  by  similar  trials, 
from  ascertaining  their  effect  by  actual  practice.  It  is  true, 
that  the  nature  of  some  soils  does  not  admit  of  it;  in  others, 
the  land  is  in  many  cases  so  valuable,  that  almost  every  inch 
of  it  is  in  profitable  use;  and  as  it  requires  about  150  square 
ivi  2 


144  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

yards  of  surface,  6  inches  deep,  for  a  single  acre,  or  a  pit  of 
proportionate  size,  if  dug  from  the  subsoil,  many  persons  will 
naturally  grudge  the  sacrifice,  though  banks  and  headlands — 
something,  in  short,  in  the  shape  of  waste — may  be  found  on 
every  farm.  Every  one  who  has  the  opportunity  should  give 
it  a  fair  trial ;  and  if  tlie  result  should  prove  its  efficacy,  it 
may  then,  indeed,  be  considered  'as  opening  a  new  field  to  the 
prosperity  of  agriculture.'  The  following  are  the  most  approved 
methods  of  preparation,  when  pits  are  dug  from  the  subsoil; 
but  if  the  earth  be  taken  from  the  surface,  then  those  direc- 
tions will  be  applicable  which  have  been  already  given  in  the 
previous  chapter,  under  the  head  of 'Paring  and  Burning.' 

Clay-kilns. — There  are  two  modes  of  burning  clay  com- 
monly employed,  one  by  kilns  partly  constructed  of  masonry, 
and  the  other  of  sods;  in  both  of  which  the  earth  is  piled  upon 
them,  instead  of  being  placed  under  cover,  as  in  a  lime-kiln. 

The  kiln  of  the  former  kind,  described  by  Mr.  Burroughs, 
should  be  built  in  a  pit  excavated  out  of  the  ground  which  is 
to  be  burned,  and  consists  of  an  arch  about  4  or  5  feet  long,  3 
wide,  and  2  high,  made  with  brick;  the  front  close  like  an 
oven,  and  the  inside  fitted  to  receive  a  strong  fire  of  coals. 
On  the  top  of  the  arch  six  or  eight  holes  are  left,  the  size  of  a 
small  brick,  to  admit  the  heat  passing  out,  which  is  to  commu- 
nicate to  the  earth  laid  on.  When  the  fire  is  sufficiently 
strong,  the  door  of  the  kiln  is  to  be  well  stopped,  and  the 
earth  thrown  on  in  some  degree  pulverized,  about  six  or  eight 
inches  thick,  so  as  to  cover  the  top  of  the  kiln,  and  every 
direction  round  it  to  which  the  heat  might  communicate.  In 
this  manner  it  is  to  be  dressed  alternately  with  culm  and 
earth,  which  are  to  be  laid  on  according  to  the  heat  of  the 
fire,  which  is  on  no  account  to  be  allowed  to  burn  too  strong. 

After  the  kiln  is  once  lighted,  it  will  burn  several  hundred 
bushels  of  earth  without  any  additional  fire  inside ;  and  the 
same  kiln  will  answer  for  a  length  of  time  to  renew  the  pro- 
cess when  necessary. 

Kilns  constructed  of  masonry,  although  the  most  permanent, 
have,  however,  been  objected  to,  both  because  of  the  outlay  in 
their  erection,  and  the  inconvenience  often  experienced  in 
procuring  workmen  to  build  them.  There  is  aUo  this  IVu-thcr 
disadvantage, — that  although  when  once  built  tliere  is  an  end 
of  the  expense,  and  with  proper  care  they  may  be  employed 
for  years,  yet,  if  placed  at  any  considerable  distance  from  the 
land  to  be  manured,  the  cost  of  carriage  will  probably  exceed 


ON  MANURES.  I45 

that  of  burning-.  They  are,  therefore,  usually  formed  in  the 
very  field  on  which  tlie  clay  is  to  be  laid,  and  out  of  which  it 
is  dug;  in  which  case  they  may  be  made  entirely  with  sods, 
or  mud  and  straw,  in  the  following"  manner : — 

On  a  headland  or  waste  piece  of  ground,  off  which  sotls  can 
be  procured  with  sward  sufficiently  tough  to  build  a  wall, 
erect  an  oblong  or  a  circular  inclosure,  about  eiglit  or  ten  feet 
in  diameter,  and  two  feet  thick,  but  not  higher  than  three  or 
four  feet  On  a  level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground,  cut 
flues,  opening  through  the  opposite  sides  of  the  wall,  so  that 
they  may  all  meet  in  the  centre  of  the  kiln;  make  them  also 
about  five  or  six  inches  deep  and  four  wide,  and  let  them  be 
covered  wilh  sods  on  the  top,  so  as  to  keep  them  free  of 
clay  and  rubbish,  and  the  mouths  well  open  to  the  air.  Then, 
in  the  centre  of  the  kiln,  place  brushwood,  turf,  or  any  com- 
bustible, with  some  blocks  of  wood  to  strengthen  the  fire,  and, 
when  all  is  well  kindled,  throw  on  some  culm — if  you  have 
any — and  then  clay,  and  so  on,  adding  clay  to  the  heap  as  the 
fire  may  be  found  sufficiently  strong  to  take  the  dressing; 
always  observing  to  keep  the  heat  of  the  kiln  as  even  and  as 
moderate  as  possible, — ^just  of  sufficient  strength  to  expel  the 
moisture  from  the  layers  of  clay  as  they  are  laid  on.  Much 
care  should  also  be  taken  not  to  cover  the  fire  too  soon  after 
being  lighted,  as  that  might  extinguish  it  totally,  and  therefore 
the  clods  first  put  on  should  be  of  the  largest  description,  that 
spaces  may  thus  be  left  for  the  free  admission  of  the  heat. 
The  smoke  must  be  prevented  from  escaping;  but  the  progress 
of  the  fire,  as  it  ascends,  may  be  ascertained  by  occasionally 
thrusting  a  finger  here  and  there  through  the  surface;  to 
which,  if  it  has  approached  very  near,  more  matter  must  be 
added. 

The  walls,  when  made  of  sods,  should  be  beat  close  with  the 
spade,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  drawing  air,  by  which  the 
burning  of  the  clay  would  be  much  retarded;  the  kiln  may 
then  be  immediately  lighted;  but  if  made  with  mud  and  straw, 
they  should  be  permitted  to  dry  before  the  fire  is  kindled. 
They  should  not,  at  first,  be  built  higher  than  three  to  four 
feet,  nor  the  inclosure  be  wider  than  ten,  because  the  earth  can 
then  be  flung  easily  over  every  part;  the  fuel  will  also  be  thus 
more  easily  placed,  and  the  firing  more  conveniently  managed. 
As  it  is  not  necessary  that  much  neatness  should  be  observed 
in  the  construction,  a  kiln  of  this  size  may  be  erected,  under 
proper  directions,  by  five  or  six  men  in  the  course  of  a  day. 


146  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

When  the  inside  of  the  kiln,  however,  begins  to  be  filled  up 
with  clay,  then  the  wall  must  be  raised  as  high  as  may  allow 
the  earth  to  be  thrown  on  without  much  additional  labour; 
and  care  should  be  taken,  during  the  burning,  to  keep  the 
wall  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches  higher  than  the  top  of  the  clay, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  wind  from  acting  on  the  surface  of  the 
fire.  As  soon  as  the  fire  is  strongly  kindled,  the  mouths  of  all 
the  flues,  except  the  one  to  windward,  should  be  stopped,  and 
even  that  will  only  be  of  use  at  tiie  commencement  of  the 
process;  for,  if  the  fire  burns  with  tolerable  keenness,  the  sods 
of  which  the  flues  are  composed  will  soon  be  reduced  to  ashes. 
Some  people,  therefore,  dispense  with  the  use  of  flues  alto- 
gether; but  the  trouble  of  making  them  is  very  slight,  and  the 
want  of  them  often  occasions  difficulty  in  the  management  of 
the  fire. 

The  kiln  may  be  increased  to  any  size,  by  raising  a  new  wall 
round  tiie  former  when  that  one  has  been  burned  through;  and 
in  this  manner  kilns  have  been  made  so  large  as  to  contain 
more  than  100  loads  of  ashes:  but,  as  these  walls  cannot  be 
equally  pulverized,  they  should  be  broken  down,  and  blended 
with  the  contents  of  the  kiln,  as  that  is  burning  out.  No 
precise  period  can  be  fixed  for  the  time  which  the  operation 
will  occupy,  as  much  will  necessarily  depend  upon  the  quantity 
of  matter,  the  nature  of  the  fuel,  its  management,  and  the  state 
of  the  weather;  most  accounts,  therefore,  affirm,  that  it  can  be 
well  accomplished — that  is  to  say,  both  sufiiciently  burned,  and 
afterwards  cooled,  in  a  few  days;  some,  in  a  fortniglit;  others, 
in  a  month;  but  Mr.  Burroughs  says,  that  it  requires  about  six 
weeks,  and  that  it  will  not  then  be  in  good  order  for  the  land 
until  after  two  months  longer,  for  it  will  take  considerable 
time  to  reduce  it  to  powder.  When  the  kilns  are  burnt  out, 
the  ashes  are  still  paler  than  the  original  clay,  and  are  gene- 
rally in  a  powdery  stiite,  or  are  easily  rendered  so  by  a  slight 
stroke  of  the  shovel,  either  when  filling  the  cart,  or  when  they 
are  spreading  upon  the  ground:  this,  indeed,  should  never  be 
neglected  if  there  be  any  appearance  of  lumps,  for  if  the  earth 
be  not  completely  pulverized,  it  will  have  little  other  effect 
upon  the  land  than  may  be  expected  from  bits  of  brick.  The 
expense  of  burning  clay  in  the  kiln  here  described  is  stated  to 
bp,  in  Ireland,  from  'StI.  to  4f/.  an  Irish  load,  or  about  40s.  or 
50.V.  the  Irish  acre, — ecpial  to  about  32s.  Imperial  measure  ; 
but,  with  the  usual  inaccuracy  observable  in  all  accounts  of 
manure  per  load,  we  are  lefl  to  guess  at  its  contents. 


ON  MANURES.  I47 

The  chief  art  in  burning-  is,  to  keep  out  the  air,  and  keep 
in  the  smoke ;  which  can  only  be  accomplished  by  having  the 
walls  made  quite  close,  and  taking  care  to  have  the  tops 
always  lightly  covered  with  clay.  If  the  smoke  should  appear 
coming  out  in  spots  here  and  there,  cover  those  places  with 
sods  immediately;  for  by  thus  half  burning  or  charring  the 
earth,  it  is  supposed  that  any  vegetable  matter  which  it  con- 
tains will  be  preserved,  and  that  the  staple  of  the  land  will  not 
suffer.  In  short  the  kilns  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  both 
day  and  night,  until  the  operation  is  completed.  No  rule 
can  be  laid  down  for  the  size  of  the  clods,  but  those  first  laid 
on  will  burn  more  readily  if  dug  up  and  dried  a  day  or  two 
before:  if  they  be  properly  managed,  that,  however,  is  not 
absolutely  necessary,  and  if  once  the  kiln  is  fairly  set  a-going, 
no  further  fuel  of  any  kind  is  required;  for  the  clay,  though 
wet,  will  continue  to  burn,  unless  extinguished  by  careless- 
ness, as  even  the  changes  of  the  weather,  except  in  very  bad 
seasons,  have  very  little  effect  upon  it.  It  may,  however,  be 
proper  to  caution  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  tlie  pro- 
cess, from  opening  any  part  of  the  kiln  in  order  to  ascertain 
its  progress;  for  although,  from  its  outward  appearance,  they 
may  imagine  the  fire  to  be  extinguished,  it  yet  may  be  burning 
fiercely  in  the  interior;  and  if  the  air  be  admitted,  the  mam 
force  of  the  fire  will  draw  to  that  hole,  where  it  will  blaze 
out,  and  thus  the  work  will  certainly  be  retarded,  if  not  en- 
tirely stopped.  Although  the  process  is  very  simple,  when 
well  understood,  yet,  like  every  thing  else,  it  requires  some 
experience,  and  mistakes  are  continually  made  by  workmen 
who,  not  being  already  acquainted  with  the  practice,  are  apt 
to  burn  the  clay  into  lumps.  It  is,  indeed,  difficult  to  describe 
the  operation  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  enable  those  who 
have  never  seen  it  done  to  burn  properly. 

Burning  in  heaps. — Another  common  mode  of  burning- 
earth,  is  to  dig  up  the  surface  of  banks  and  headlands,  or  old 
borders,  and,  when  dry,  to  cart  it  to  a  heap.  The  practice 
then  is,  to  lay  a  foundation  of  earth,  some  inches  thick,  then 
haulm,  straw,  dry  weeds,  and  a  few  bushes,  whins,  or  any  thing 
of  the  kind,  upon  which  the  pile  is  raised  in  the  form  of  a  cone, 
and  enclosed  with  a  wall  of  turf  in  the  manner  already  de- 
scribed. When  fuel  is  scarce,  an  experienced  burner  will 
light  a  small  heap,  and  increase  it  to  almost  any  extent,  by 
pulling  down  part  of  the  wall,  drawing  out  a  portion  of  the 
fire,  and  addmg  fresh  earth.     They  are  not  uncommonly  car- 


148  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

ried  to  12  yards  in  diameter,  and  in  that  case  generally  con- 
tain about  100  loads  of  ashes,  at  3G  bushels  to  tiie  load. 

A  nearly  similar  method  is  also  much  practised  in  Suffolk, 
where  the  earth  is  burned  in  mounds,  and  it  is  called  clod- 
fmrning.  The  clods  are  raked  together  in  small  heaps  of 
from  lour  to  eight  bushels,  at  a  rod  distance,  and  burnt  by 
placing  tliem  ujxm  a  small  quantity  of  haulm,  or  straw;  but 
this  should  be  done  very  expeditiously,  on  the  fire  being  pro- 
perly kindled,  as  otherwise  it  would  be  exhausted  before  a 
sufficient  quantity  was  heated ;  for  which  reason  it  is  proper  to 
light  them  early  in  the  day,  that  they  may  be  well  covered 
before  sunset.  This,  however,  differs  from  paring  and  burn- 
ing, as  it  is  not  requisite  that  any  weeds,  or  roots  of  weeds, 
should  exist  in  the  soil,  for  the  real  earth  alone  burns  or  chars 
sufficiently;  and  as  the  smaller  the  heap,  the  less  is  the  earth 
calcined,  it  is  thought  by  some  that  the  better  is  the  manure. 
The  idea  is,  however,  probably  erroneous;  for  these  small 
heaps  are  so  quickly  burned,  that  what  is  on  fire  at  noon,  may 
be  completed  before  night :  if  despatch  be  an  object,  that  may 
be  attained  by  employing  a  greater  number  of  hands,  whereas 
large  piles  cannot  be  effectually  prepared  without  more  con- 
stant attention  and  delay  ;  but,  like  the  process  of  kiln-burning, 
this  operation  also  requires  some  experience  to  carry  on  the 
work  expeditiously,  and  to  burn  close. 

Although  the  method  of  burning  in  heaps  has  the  merit  of 
simplicity,  yet  the  plan  is  objectionable,  because  this  method 
of  managing  the  fire  subjects  it  in  many  instances,  to  be  either 
extinguished,  or  to  burn  with  such  increased  force  as  to  con- 
vert any  portion  of  the  earth  which  consists  of  clay,  into  mere 
brick;  besides  occupying  increased  time  and  labour,  and  occa- 
sioning an  additional  charge  for  cartage.  It  does  not  produce 
guch  good  ashes  as  when  the  earth  is  calcined  in  a  close  kiln: 
neither  has  the  same  quantity  of  fuel  equal  power;  for,  by  the 
erection  of  walls,  the  heat  is  effectually  retained,  and  w-ill 
continue  for  a  long  period  after  the  fire  has  been  extinguished; 
whereas,  in  these  round  heaps,  the  air  having  full  power  over 
every  part  of  the  surface,  the  internal  heat  is  sooner  checked, 
and  the  smothering  process — which  is  considered  essential  to 
the  value  of  the  manure — cannot  be  so  perfectly  accom- 
plished. Besides,  as  the  walls  are  ultimately  converted  into 
ashes,  their  cost  only  amounts  to  the  trifling  additional  charge 
of  the  labour  of  their  erection. 

Burning  with  lime,  is  also  a  plan  w  hich  has  been  adopted 


/ 


ON  MANURES.  149 


with  much  apparent  advantage  by  Mr.  Curvven,  both  when 
applied  to  the  surface  soil,  and  to  clay  taken  from  the  under 
stratum.     The  method  is  as  follows  : — 

'Mounds  of  7  yards  in  length,  by  Sh  in  breadth,  are  kindled 
with  72  bushels  of  lime;  first,  a  layer  of  dry  sods,  or  parings, 
on  which  a  quantity  of  lime  is  spread,  mixing  sods  with  it, — 
for  he  doubts  whether  clay  can  be  properly  converted  into 
ashes  without  a  mixture  of  surface  soil,  as  it  is  in  that  case 
either  calcined,  or  not  sufficiently  burned.  Then  a  covering 
of  eight  inches  thick  of  sods,  on  which  the  other  half  of  the 
lime  is  spread,  and  covered  a  foot  thick ;  the  height  of  the 
mound  being  about  a  yard.' 

'In  twenty-four  hours  it  will  take  fire.  The  lime  should  be 
taken  immediately  from  the  kiln;  but  it  is  better  to  allow  it  to 
ignite  itself,  than  to  efiect  it  by  the  operation  of  slaking  by 
water.  When  the  fire  is  fairly  kindled,  fresh  sods  should  be 
applied;  and  it  is  recommended  to  obtain  a  sufficient  body  of 
ashes  from  the  sods  befoi^  any  clay  is  put  upon  the  mounds. 
The  fire  naturally  rises  to  the  top;  it  takes  less  time,  and  does 
more  work  to  draw  down  the  ashes  from  the  top,  and  not  to 
sufl^er  it  to  rise  above  six  feet.' 

Mr.  Curwen  also  says,  '  That  the  former  practice  of  burning 
in  kilns  was  more  expensive,  did  much  less  work,  and  in  many 
instances  calcined  the  ashes,  and  rendered  them  of  no  value.' 
On  which  it  may  be  observed,  that,  with  regard  to  the  expense, 
the  difference  in  labour  in  favour  of  the  practice  of  burning 
with  lime  cannot  be  very  material,  for  it  only  consists  in  the 
charge  of  raising  the  walls,  with  a  little  more  attention  to  the 
fire,  and  will  not  amount  to  so  much  as  the  cost  of  the  lime. 

Application. — The  chief  point  to  be  observed  in  the  appli- 
cation of  these  ashes  is — that  they  be  thoroughly  pulverised, 
or  at  least  brought  into  a  state  as  nearly  resembling  powder 
as  may  be  found  practicable ;  and  this  cannot  be  effected 
unless  the  heat  be  so  confined  as  to  prevent  it  from  spreading 
to  a  ffame,  for  in  that  case  the  clay  will  be  assuredly  burned 
to  bricks,  and  to  this  mistake  many  failures  in  experiments 
have  been  attributed.  The  term  ^ashes''  may,  indeed,  in  this 
sense,  be  deemed  somewhat  misapplied ;  but  we  know  not  any 
other  that  will  more  clearly  convey  our  meaning,  though  our 
readers  will  doubtless  comprehend,  that  the  process  is  to  stop 
short  of  that  state  of  hardness  whicii  is  produced  by  the  brick- 
kiln. In  effecting  this,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  burn  clay 
that  has  been  much  sun-dried,  for  if  put  on  the  kiln  in  that 


150  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

state,  it  will  produce  lumps,  which  will  not  be  easily  broken, 
even  by  a  mallet. 

The  best  time  for  beginning  the  operation  is  when  the 
weather  sets  in  fair,  in  sprinir;  but  the  land  should  also  be  well 
cleaned,  and  brought  into  lino  tiltli,  in  order  to  allow  of  the 
soil  being-  intimately  blended  with  the  ashes.  When  laid 
upon  arable  land,  they  should  therefore  be  brought,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  into  a  state  of  powder,  if  intended  for  corn ;  but 
when  applied  to  green  crops,  they  may  be  used  somewhat 
coarser. 

Regarding  the  species  of  earth  to  be  burned — strong  clay 
is  the  best  tor  the  purpose,  for  its  adhesive  properties  being 
destroyed  by  the  process,  it  will  become  good  manure  for  land 
of  the  same  sort,  and  will  be  found  advantageous  to  ground  of 
almost  any  description;  but  when  light  soils  are  burned,  (a 
practice,  however,  which  we  have  shown  to  be  in  general  dis- 
advantageous,) the  ashes  are  not  calculated  to  apply  to  similar 
land,  but  should  be  laid  upon  strong  clays  or  tenacious  loam. 

The  quantity  of  Ashes  to  be  applied  to  the  land  rnay  be 
varied  according  to  its  quality.  Viewing  its  effect  as  chiefly 
mechanical,  the  more  adhesive  the  soil,  the  greater  will  be 
the  amount  required:  for,  as  strong  clays  are  apt  to  run  to- 
gether after  heavy  rains,  and  to  retain  the  water  upon  the 
surface  instead  of  allowing  it  to  penetrate  to  the  pan  below, 
the  larger  the  quantity  of  matter  which  may  have  the  effect 
of  rendering  them  {)orous,  the  better;  and  its  application  to 
such  ground  hardly  admits  of  any  limit.  In  no  case  will  it  be 
found  prejudicial;  and,  from  what  may  be  gathered  from  the 
foregoing  experiments,  as  well  as  from  the  information  of  other 
practical  men,  we  think  that  it  should  never  be  laid  on  any 
land  in  a  less  quantity  than  800  bushels  per  acre. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MINERAL    MANURES    CONTINUED. SALT NITRE. 

Salt  of  various  qualities  is  produced  in  several  countries, 
and  known  according  to  the  different  sources  from  which  it  is 
obtained — whether  from    the  waters   of  the   sea,  from   salt- 


ON  MANURES.  151 

springs,  or  from  mines.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  strictly  called 
a  mineral,  unless  when  found  in  the  state  of  rock-salt ;  yet, 
partaking  of  the  nature  of  that  fossil,  and  not  having  liere  to 
consider  its  effects  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  manure,  we 
deem  it  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  any  discussion  of  its  pe- 
culiar properties  when  manufactured,  and  shall,  therefore, 
confine  our  observations  to  its  effects  upon  the  soil. 

It  has  been  represented  as  operating  as  a  manure  upon 
arable  land  by  its  tendency  to  promote  putrefaction,  as  well  as 
by  stimulating  the  powers  of  vegetation,  through  its  absorption 
of  moisture  from  the  atmosphere;  as  being  destructive  of  weeds 
and  insects,  and  a  preventive  of  rust;  as  improving  tbe  herb- 
age of  grass-land,  destroying  the  moss,  and  rendering  fodder 
palatable  which  would  be  otherwise  refused  by  cattle ;  and  as 
acting  as  a  condiment  conducive  to  the  health  of  all  animals. 
It  has  been  successfully  applied ^o  some  soils  under  peculiar 
circumstances;  yet,  except  in  cases  where  its  use  has  been 
rather  governed  by  local  facilities  than  by  any  conviction 
of  its  real  value,  farmers  do  not  •  appear  to  have  generally 
availed  themselves  of  its  advantages  as  a  manure,  though  it 
is  gradually  creeping  into  use  for  live  stock.  It  is,  indeed, 
admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  noxious  to  the  whole  tribe  of  slugs, 
and  worms  of  that  description,  though  we  have  yet  no  proof 
which  can  be  relied  on  of  its  preventing  the  ravages  of  the  fly 
on  turnips;  its  effects  in  correcting  the  faults  of  sour  pasturage 
and  spoiled  fodder  seem  also  to  rest  upon  grounds  which  can 
hardly  be  doubted.*  There  are  also  proofs  of  its  power  in 
checking  the  rust  in  corn ;  for  although  that  disease  has  been 
generally  attributed  to  the  varying  changes  of  the  atmosphere, 
yet  it  was  stated  in  the  evidence  of  Dr.  Paris  before  the  Salt 
Committee,  that  it  was  the  practice  of  many  farmers  in  Corn- 
wall to  spread  about  30  bushels  of  salt,  the  refuse  of  the  pilchard 
fishery,  weighing  56  lbs.  each,  per  statute  acre  upon  their 
land,  a  fortnight  previous  to  the  sowing  of  turnips;  and  they 
all  agreed  that  they  never  had  any  rust  on  the  following  crop 
of  wheat  where  this  was  adopted,  though  before  they  were 
greatly  affected  by  it.     In  the  course  of  a  very  minute  inquiry 

*  Salt  destroys  vermin  by  making  them  void  the  contents  of  their  bodies  ; 
such  evacuations  being  too  powerful  for  them  to  withstand. — Lord  Dundon- 
ald  on  Chemical  Aerie,  p.  138.  .See  an  experiment  in  proof  of  this,  in  the 
.Farmer's  Magazine,  vol.  xviii.  p.  440,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  grubs,  full 
of  food,  when  placed  in  fresh  earth  in  which  some  young  roots  of  grass  were 
transplanted  after  being  very  slightly  pickled  with  common  salt,  were  in  24 
hours  reduced  to  mere  skins,  and  two  out  of  three  dead. 
N 


152  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

into  the  causes  of  rust,  undertaken  some  years  ago  in  this 
country,  and  afterwards  continued  at  different  periods  on  the 
Continent,  it  also  appeared,  that  it  was  never  experienced  in 
the  in)inediate  vicinity  of  the  sea,  unless  when  the  ground  was 
greatly  over-manured ;  and  that  when  sea-ooze  or  sand  was 
employed  as  manure,  it  was  prevented.  This,  however,  does 
not  apply  to  the  practice  of  steeping  seed-wheat,  which  can 
only  have  the  effect  of  purifying  it,  but  cannot,  it  is  presumed, 
prevent  the  grain  from  afterwards  receiving  infection  from  the 
air,  and  which,  indeed,  applies  rather  to  S7nut,  than  to  rust  or 
mildew.  Its  influence  in  forwarding  the  putrefaction  of  ma- 
nure depends  upon  the  quantity  in  which  it  is  employed;*  and 
although  its  property  of  absorbing  moisture  from  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  retaining  it  in  the  o-round,  constitutes,  perhaps,  its 
chief  value,  when  applied  to  light  soils  and  in  dry  summers, 
yet,  on  heavy  land  and  in  wet  seasons,  its  power  seems  to 
have  little  eiiect:  it  has  therefore  fallen  into  disrepute  with 
many  persons  who  have  tried  it  without  due  attention  to  these 
circumstances.  It  is,  indeed,  evident,  that  the  extravagant 
expectations  entertained  of  it  by  some,  and  the  disappointment 
experienced  by  others,  have  been  occasioned  by  the  contingent 
nature  of  its  character,  which,  depending  not  alone  upon  the 
amount  in  which  it  is  used,  but  also  on  the  quality  of  tlie  soil 
and  on  the  state  of  the  weather,  must  render  it  occasionally 
ineffectual.  That  it  contributes  to  the  health  of  animals  is  a 
fact  now  universally  granted;  though  its  specific  virtues, 
when  administered  in  different  quantities  to  stock  of  various 
species,  age,  and  condition,  have  not  yet  been  sufficiently 
ascertained,  nor  have  we  now  to  consider  of  its  employment 
for  that  purpose.  We  therefore  neither  accord  in  all  that  has 
been  assumed  in  its  favour,  nor  yet  in  its  disproval. 

Apjdicatioii  of  Salt. — Nothing  decisive  has  been  ascertained 
regarding  either  the  quantity  or  season  in  which  salt  should  be 
laid  upon  the  land.  It  appears,  however,  that  its  effects  are 
most  visible  and  satisfactory  when  applied  to  hot,  dry  soils, 
and  in  very  warm  summers;  but  on  cold,  wet  land,  and   in 


*If  used  in  large  quantities,  it  is  antiseptic;  but  if  moderately  mixed  up 
witli  composts,  it  lias  been  found  to  promote  tlie  putrefaction  of  the  vegetable 
and  animal  suljstances  whicli  tliey  contain.  The  quantity  has,  indeed,  been 
stated  as  high  as  a  ton  to  the  acre  :  but  this  is  either  foul  salt,  which  has 
been  used  in  the  fisheries,  or  the  refuse  of  brine  which  has  been  manufac- 
tured, and  which  cannot  be  estimated  at  more  than  one-half,  or  perhaps 
one-third,  of  the  weight  of  pure  salt. — Sir  II.  Davy,  Elem.  of  Agric.  Chem., 
4to  p.  29J:  Cheshire  Report,  p.  237. 


ON  MANURES.  i;53 

rainy  seasons,  or  under  a  humid  climate,  its  powers  seem  to 
become  neutralized,  and  of  little  value.  We  are  of  opinion 
that,  on  arable  land,  it  will  be  found  more  advisable  to 
lay  it  on  before  sowing,  than  either  with  the  seeds,  or  after- 
wards as  a  top-dressing.  If  applied,  for  instance  to  a  clover 
ley,  either  a  iew  weeks  before  seed-time,  or  immediately  after 
the  first  crop  is  off,  it  would  effectually  banish  the  slug-;  and  it 
has  been  justly  observed,  that,  if  all  stubbles  (not  laid  down 
with  seeds)  were  to  receive  a  slight  dressing  of  salt  before 
winter,  it  would  not  only  tend  to  keep  the  land  free  from  the 
slug,  but  probably  also  otherwise  benefit  the  soil. 

In  preparing  the  land  under  the  fallow-process,  it  has  been 
recommended  to  spread  from  30  to  40  bushels  per  acre  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  roots  and  insects  in  the  soil,  and 
breaking  all  the  tough  and  adhesive  clods  which  are  found  to 
be  so  troublesome  in  working  the  ground.  This  should  be 
done  in  autumn,  some  time  before  the  first  ploughing;  as  the 
salt  being  thoroughly  incorporated  with  the  soil  during  the 
spring  and  summer  following,  its  strength  will  be  so  materially 
reduced  by  the  time  when  the  seed  is  sown,  that  instead  of 
injuring,  it  has  been  found  to  promote  vegetation.  With 
regard  to  the  destruction  of  insects,  that  object  can,  however, 
be  attained  with  half  the  quantity:  and  we  must  again  caution 
our  readers  against  the  indiscriminate  recommendation  given 
of  the  use  of  salt,  without  distinguishing  whether  it  is  foul 
or  pure:  on  the  application  of  40  bushels  of  the  latter,  vege- 
tation ceases. 

When  applied  in  composts,  it  is  said  to  have  been  found 
more  eflectual  than  lime.  It  has  been  tried  in  Cheshire  on 
barley  and  seeds,  and  greatly  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations that  had  been  formed  of  it.  A  quantity  of  refuse 
salt  having  been  also  mixed  up  with  earth,  and  another  portion 
of  the  same  earth  with  lime,  the  vegetation  of  that  part  of  the 
field  upon  which  the  salt  was  laid  was  by  far  the  healthiest 
and  the  most  vigorous.  In  Ayrshire  it  has  been  mixed  with 
32  bushels  of  lime-shells,  and  either  spread  singly  or  made  up 
into  a  compost  v/ith  40  cart-loads  of  peat-moss,  and  has  thus 
been  found  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  growth  of  wheat  and 
beans.  In  those  parts  of  the  coasts  of  Cornwall  where  the 
pilchard  fisheries  occasion  considerable  quantities  of  salt  to  be 
condemned,  it  is  also  much  used  as  a  preparation  for  turnips 
in  composts  mixed  up  with  sea-sand,  and  spoiled  fish,  dung, 
and  rotten  slaty  earth,  in  various  proportions,  to  which  from 


154  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

40  to  60  bushels  of  lime  are  commonly  added.  The  quantity 
of  this  kind  of  compost  commonly  applied  to  an  acre,  is  usually 
about  a  ton  of  the  fish  and  salt, — more  or  less  as  the  fish  pre- 
vails, and  in  that  country  it  lias  been  long  considered  as  a  most 
valuable  and  lasting  manure,  though  probably  its  etfects  may 
be  at  least  equally  due  to  the  oil  and  refuse  fish,  as  to  the  salt 
with  which  it  is  combined.  It  may  also  be  advantageously 
mixed  with  stable-dung  alone. 

On  meadow  ground,  Mr.  Hollinshead  advises  the  farmer  'to 
sow  six  bushels  of  salt  per  acre,  immediately  after  the  hay  is 
got  in;  which  will  not  only  assist  vegetation,  and  cover  the 
face  of  the  ground  with  grass,  but  will  induce  the  cattle  to  eat 
up  the  eddish.'  For  pasture  land,  he  however  recommends 
the  application  of  foul  salt  at  the  rate  of  16  bushels  per  acre  ; 
or,  which  he  seems  to  prefer,  to  apply  it  in  the  same  quantity, 
mixing  with  every  16  bushels  of  the  salt  20  loads  of  earth, 
turning  it  two  or  three  tmies,  to  incorporate  it,  and  laying  it 
on  in  the  autumn. 

In  frosty  weather,  it  has  excited  the  surprise  of  many  per- 
sons that,  when  the  land  was  quite  white  through  heavy  hoar- 
frost, ground  which  had  been  top-dressed  with  salt  remamed 
perfectly  green,  and  apparently  Iree  from  its  effects.  It  is, 
indeed,  known  to  chemists  to  be  an  enemy  to  congelation;  but 
we  have,  as  yet,  no  practical  knowledge  of  its  effects,  in  that 
view,  upon  vegetation,  nor  are  we  aware  that  its  application 
would  tend  to  preserve  crops  from  the  consequences  of  frost. 

The  quantity  of  pure  salt  recommended  to  be  applied  to 
land  as  manure  is  from  4  to  16  bushels  per  acre,  beyond 
which  it  has  been  generally  found  to  become  injurious  to  crops 
when  sown  with  the  seed;  but,  if  laid  in  tlie  autumn  upon  land 
intended  for  a  clean  summer  fallow,  from  30  to  40  bushels  may 
be  spread,  according  to  the  condition  and  nature  of  the  soil. 
In  the  directions  ibr  its  use  given  in  the  recent  treatises  of 
Mr,  Cuthbert  Johnson,  from  5  to  20  bushels  are  assumed  as 
the  limits  of  its  application  to  different  crops;  and  although 
we  think  that,  in  most  cases,  the  latter  quantity  would  be 
found  too  large,  and  that,  in  all,  the  rules  for  its  adoption 
savour  too  much  of  theory,  yet  as,  with  due  discretion,  in 
many  instances  tiiey  may  serve  as  guides  for  its  employment, 
we  here  transcribe  tiiem  witii  very  slight  alteration :  with  this 
observation,  that  they  only  apply  to  the  first  year's  manuring; 
though  it  has  been  stated  by  Air.  Hollinshead  and  others,  that 


ON  MANURES.  -  155 

an  annual  application  of  a  much  less  quantity  will  always 
keep  the  land  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  fertility : — 

For  wheat  and  rye,  10  to  20  bushels  per  acre,  put  on  after 
the  seed  has  been  harrowed  in;  the  earlier  the  better,  but  may 
be  done  until  March. 

For  barley,  oats,  peas,  and  beans,  5  to  16  bushels  per  acre. 
For  these  crops  it  has  however  been  found  beneficial,  in  the 
west  of  England,  to  lay  it  on  after  the  seed  has  been  harrowed 
in ;  but  in  counties  less  humid,  it  would  be  more  advantageous 
to  spread  it  in  January  or  February. 

For  turnips,  and  most  green  crops,  5  to  16  bushels  per  acre, 
put  on  about  a  month  before  seed-time ;  or  in  January  or  Feb- 
ruary, as  the  salt  will  then  meet  the  insects  in  their  weakest 
state.  Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  however,  says — that,  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  slugs,  salt  should  be  used  in  not  less  quantities  than  10 
or  15  bushels  per  acre,  applied  to  the  surface  of  the  land. 

For  potatoes,  10  to  20  bushels  per  acre  in  January  or  Feb- 
ruary, if  no  other  manure  be  used ;  but  if  a  light  dressing  of 
dung  be  intended  at  the  time  of  planting,  then  half  the  salt  to 
be  spread  after  the  plants  have  been  covered  in. 

For  hops,  15  to  20  bushels  per  acre,  in  November  or  De- 
cember. 

For  grass-land,  10  to  15  bushels  per  acre  in  the  autumn, 
and,  if  possible,  not  later  than  November;  but  may  be  put  on, 
without  injury,  until  February.  If  applied  to  the  extent  of 
40  to  .50  bushels,  the  old  turf  will  be  completely  destroyed, 
but  has  been  generally  succeeded  by  a  new  sward  of  sweeter 
herbage. 

In  Dacre's  'Testimonies,'  it  is  said,  that  although  the  fer- 
tilizing qualities  of  salt,  when  used  by  itself  as  a  manure,  are 
very  great,  it  yet  requires  discretion  to  guard  against  putting 
on  too  much:  a  few  bushels  to  an  acre  are  sufficient.  If  any 
large  quantity  be  put  on,  it  will  by  its  pungency  and  strength 
destroy  vegetation  for  a  time ;  but  afterwards,  when  the  salt 
has  been  well  dissolved  in  the  soil,  the  land  becomes  very 
rich.  That  when  mixed  with  dung  and  other  manure,  it  is 
highly  efficacious:  but  the  safest  way  of  using  it  is,  to  sprinkle 
it  occasionally  over  the  dung  in  the  cattle-yards,  that  it  may 
amalgamate  with  it  and  ferment. 

The  effects,  as  ascertained  by  the  result  of  its  use  upon  the 
Continent,  are  described  by  that  eminent  agriculturist.  Von 
Thaer,  to  be  nearly  similar  to  those  we  have  stated.  When 
applied    in    large    quantities,   vegetation    seems   completely 


156  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

stopped;  but  when  the  salt  has  been  washed  in  by  the  ram, 
and  partly  decomposed  by  the  mould,  it  adds  to  its  force  during 
several  followino-  years.  On  rich  land,  when  spread  in  small 
quantities,  it  produces  very  sensibly  favourable  effects,  though 
of  short  duration;  but  if  laid  upon  a  poor  soil,  in  an  equal 
quantity,  it  has  been  found  wholly  inefiectual. 

Nitre,  or  saltpetre,  as  it  is  more  commonly  called,  though 
of  more  powerful  effect  than  common  salt,  is  yet  so  rarely 
employed  as  manure,  and  must  necessarily  be  so  limited  in  its 
use  for  that  purpose  by  the  scantiness  of  the  supply,  that  we 
should  hardly  have  adverted  to  it,  except  as  matter  of  se- 
condary interest  to  a  few  speculative  farmers,  had  not  our 
attention  been  called  to  it  by  some  papers  which  lately  ap- 
peared in  the  'Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture.'  From 
these  we  learn,  that  it  has  for  some  years  past  been  used  in 
parts  of  Hertfordshire,  and  appears  to  be  rather  on  the  in- 
crease ;  that  good  crops  have  been  produced  by  it,  where  crops 
never  Were  good  before;  that  it  has  been  chiefly  applied  to 
wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  grass  in  the  early  part  of  spring,  sown 
over  the  crops  in  the  proportion  of  1  to  1+  cwt.  per  acre;  and 
that  the  common  price  is  about  25s.  per  cwt. 

As  to  the  soil,  which  is  the  mast  benefited  by  its  application, 
there  is,  as  usual,  much  disagreement ;  but  it  is  generally  re- 
garded as  favourable  to  chalky  land,  and  the  accounts  all  con- 
cur in  representing  its  effects  upon  grasses  in  general,  but 
particularly  on  clover,  as  being  very  striking.  It  is  also 
generally  said  to  succeed  best  if  sown  in  damp  weather;  that 
it  should  be  pounded  till  it  will  run  through  a  wheat-sieve, 
and  may  be  sown  by  itself,  but  it  is  not  uncommonly  mixed  up 
with  ashes.  It  is,  however,  of  various  qualities,  which  differ 
exceedingly  in  strength,  and  make  a  proportionate  diflerence 
in  its  eflects  upon  the  land,  by  inattention  to  which  errors  may 
be  occasioned  in  its  application.  From  its  analysis,  as  made 
by  Sir  H,  Davy,  it  appears  that  wheat  contains  more  nitre  than 
any  other  protluct  of  a  farm,  and  it  was  therefore  expected  to 
be  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  growth  of  that  grain  :*  tlie  fact, 
however,  se^ms  at  variance  with  this  theory;  for,  altliough  it 
has  generally  occasioned  an  increase  of  straw',  the  yield  of 

*  It  is  known  by  chemists  as  nitrate  of  potass ;  and,  according  to  this 
analysis,  consists  of  one  proportion  of  azote,  six  of  oxygen,  and  one  ofpot;is- 
sum.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  says,  that  it  may  possibly  furnish  azote  to  form 
albumen  or  glutten,  in  those  plants  that  contain  it. 


ON  MANURES.  157 

grain  has  not  been  improved,  and  the  crops  have,  in  many 
instances,  been  found  unusually  subject  to  mildew. 

Application. — In  answer  to  some  information,  requested  of 
Lord  Dacre,  who  has  applied  it  to  his  land,  his  Lordship  says, 
that  he  considers  it  may  be  advantageously  used  as  a  top- 
dressing  to  present  crops,  in  March  or  April,  at  the  rate  of  1^ 
cwt.  per  acre;  but  that  it  appears  to  be  most  profitable  to  Lent 
corn  and  grasses, — both  permanent  and  artificial.  Its  efiect 
upon  meadow  land  is  great;  but,  inasmuch  as  it  presses  upon 
the  stronger  grasses,  it  may,  and  probably  does,  smother  the 
dwarf  herbage.  His  Lordship  doubts  its  having  strength  to 
bring  wheat  to  full  maturity,  though  its  effect  upon  the  straw 
is  immediate  and  great.  No  mildew  has  attended  it;  but  it 
produces  a  rank  and  dark  appearance  in  the  stalk. 

Mr.  Curling,  of  Offley  Holes,  says  it  succeeds  equally  well 
on  all  soils,  on  any  sort  of  corn,  or  natural  or  artificial  grasses; 
that  it  causes  an  equal  increase  of  both  straw  and  grain,  and 
is  far  superior  to  any  other  light  manure.  He  has  not,  how- 
ever, observed  any  effect  on  the  succeeding  crop;  in  which  he 
is  corroborated  by  other  accounts.  Generally,  it  has  been 
found  most  beneficial  to  grass-land ;  it  is  destructive  to  wire- 
worms,*  slugs,  and  other  insects,  and  it  is  recommended  to  be 
sown  after  the  crop  is  well  up,  intimately  and  carefully  mixed 
with  ashes,  at  the  rate  of  li  cwt.  to  a  small  cart-load,  for  one 
acre  of  land. 

Regarding  the  quality,  it  seems  the  goodness  is  measured 
by  the  angle  at  which  light  is  refracted  in  passing  through  it; 
an  angle  of  5°  is  called  par,  and  the  variations  in  value  are 
^  made  diminishing  or  increasing — not  the  price,  but  the  quan- 
tity; for  as  the  quality  is  better  as  the  angle  is  less,  an  allow- 
ance in  weight  is  made  accordingly.  The  inferior  sort  con- 
tains common  salt.  It  is  tested  at  Apothecaries'  Hall,  and  the 
quality  marked  upon  the  bags,  so  that  any  one  who  takes 
the  trouble  of  attending  the  quarterly  sales  of  the  East  India 
Company  can  at  once  ascertain  its  value;  but  deceptions  are 
constantly  practised  by  the  dealers,  and  as  the  trade  will, 
perliaps  at  least  at  the  outset,  be  less  carefully  regulated 
under  the  new  system  than  formerly,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
these  frauds  will  be  increased. 


*  There  is  a  reiiiarknble  instanre  mentioned  by  Mr.  Cralih,  of  Temple 
Dinsley,  on  whose  land  a  field  of  barley  was  much  infested  with  the.  wire- 
worm,  but  on  top-dressing  it  with  saltpetre,  in  the  month  of  May,  they  all 
died  after  the  first  shower  of  rain. 


158  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MISCELLANEOUS    MANURES    (CONTINUED.) — BONES. 

Bones,  althoug-h  of  comparatively  late  introduction  as  ma- 
nure, have  yet  occupied  so  much  of  farming  attention  within 
these  few  years,  that  we  have  no  hesitation  in  placing-  them  at 
the  head  of  those  miscellaneous  substances  which  are  usually 
employed  for  that  purpose.  They  have  indeed  been  used  in 
some  parts  of  England  for  a  long  time,  and  have  been  ex- 
tensively imported  from  the  Continent  into  the  town  of  Hull, 
where  several  machines  have  been  erected  either  for  grinding 
them  into  }X)wder,  or  bruising  them  into  small  pieces;  which 
modes  of  application  have  been  found  so  advantageous,  that 
they  have,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  excited  general  at- 
tention, and  are  now  in  almost  universal  use  as  the  principal 
manure  for  raising  turnip  crops  on  the  calcareous  soils  in 
Yorkshire  and  Lincolnshire.  It  is  upon  this  description  of 
land  that  they  are  the  most  decidedly  valuable,  and  the  testi- 
mony of  some  farmers  of  experience  proves  that  to  mix  them 
with  a  portion  of  vegetable  or  coal  ashes  is  a  profitable  appli- 
cation for  the  production  of  turnips;  as,  by  this  method,  the 
vegetation  of  the  seed  is  quickened,  and  the  young  plant, 
getting  rapidly  into  rough  leaf  thus  escapes  the  fly. 

Long  before  the  great  advantage  which  may  be  derived 
fi'om  ground  or  well-crushed  bones  was  generally  known, 
many  persons  were  aware  of  their  fertilizing  properties.  To 
render  them  available,  however,  the  wasteful  and  injurious 
process  of  reducing  them  into  ashes  by  fire  was  then  com- 
monly resorted  to;  by  which,  indeed,  a  certain  degree  of 
benefit  was  imparted  to  land  upon  which  sulphate  of  lime  or 
gypsum  will  have  effect,  but  could  not  be  so  effectual,  in  point 
of  nourishment,  as  bone  in  an  uncalcined  state,  because  the 
oil  and  other  nutritive  matter  which  it  contains  is  thus  dissi- 
pated. In  other  instances,  they  were  either  reduced  by  lime, 
or  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the  farm-yard,  and  decomposed  by  the 
effect  of  urine,  and  in  some  cases  were  partially  broken  by  the 
hammer.  In  these  modes,  however,  great  quantities  were 
wasted,  which  is  now  prevented  by  the  improved  method  of 
})reparing  them  by  machinery;  it  is  therefore  useless  to  enter 
further  into  the  details  of  practice  which  has  "become  obsolete. 

When   reduced  to   powder,  the   bones  are  ground,  being 


ON  MANURES.  I59 

divested  by  the  process  of  boiling-,  not  only  of  every  particle 
of  flesh,  but  also  of  a  material  portion  of  oil  which  is  also  ex- 
tracted ;  and  it  is  only  in  that  state  that  they  can  be  brought 
to  the  condition  of  fine  powder.  In  this  state  it  is  only  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  they  cannot  be  so  beneficial  to  the  land 
as  when  fresh  and  unboiled;  yet  we  find,  by  the  report  of  the 
Doncaster  Association  "on  bone  manure," — to  which  we  shall 
presently  refer, — that  they  have  been  found  more  effectual 
after  having-  passed  through  the  manufactories.  When  not 
ground  completely  into  powder;  they  are,  however,  broken  in 
the  machines,  by  cast-iron  rollers,  formed  with  deeply  indented 
rims,  by  which  they  are  first  partially  bruised,  and  then  falling- 
down  upon  other  sets  of  rollers,  each  with  the  teeth  more 
closely  fixed,  they  are  in  this  manner  reduced  to  various  sizes, 
from  one  inch  to  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  a  considerable 
quantity  of  coarse  dust  is  also  procured  by  the  process.  These 
bones  are  usually  sold  under  the  respective  designations  of 
inch,  three-quarters  inch,  half-inch,  or  dust;  but  the  greatest 
demand  is  for  those  of  the  half-inch  size,  which  contain  all  the 
dust  which  has  been  formed  in  crushing  them.  The  "dust" 
is  collected  in  great  measure  by  riddling  the  inch  and  three- 
quarter  inch  bones. 

When  the  bones  are  not  boiled,  each  pair  of  rollers  is  fur- 
nished with  a  set  of  malleable  iron  scrapers  attached  below, 
in  order  to  clear  the  teeth  of  any  animal  matter  which  may 
adhere  to  them,  and  thus  the  oily  substance  contained  in  the 
bones  is  saved.  As  bone  mills  have  been  now  very  generally 
erected,  there  are  few  parts  of  the  country  where  the  manure 
cannot  be  procured  in  a  prepared  state;  but  when  the  bones 
are  only  to  be  had  raw,  and  it  is  an  object  with  the  farmer  to 
reduce  them  to  a  small  size,  they  can  be  easily  broken  to 
pieces  by  his  own  labourers.  [The  value  of  bones  being  so 
generally  admitted,  we  cut  out  a  number  of  experiments  which 
only  tended  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure.] 
,  Effects  of  Bone-Dust  and  Bones. — Bone-dust  is  the  fittest 
state  in  which  to  lay  it  upon  grass,  for  it  will  not  only  take 
more  immediate  effect  upon  the  crop,  but  if  laid  in  pieces,  it 
would  interrupt  the  progress  of  the  scythe.  It  should,  how- 
ever, be  recollected,  that  fine  powder  can  only  be  obtained 
from  spent  bone  which  has  undergone  the  process  of  manufac- 
ture. It  is  therefore  spread,  as  a  top-dressing,  by  hand ;  but  it 
is  also  very  commonly  laid  in  the  drills  for  turnips,  tor  which 
purpose  many  ingenious  machines  have  been  contrived  for 


IGO  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

sowing  it  along  with  the  seed.  It  is,  however,  much  to  be 
regretted  that  these  implements  cannot  be  constructed  with 
more  simplicity,  for  their  cost  is  so  considerable,  that  unless  a 
man  has  a  very  large  quantity  of  land  to  drill,  their  purchase 
would  be  imprudent,  and  the  hire  is  generally  unreasonably 
expensive. 

Regarding  the  quantity  of  dust,  the  powdered  bones  are 
dearer  than  those  which  are  merely  broken  small,  and  al- 
though said  to  more  forcing  to  the  first  crop,  on  account  of 
their  being,  when  in  the  state  of  powder,  more  intimately 
blended  with  the  soil,  and  more  directly  applied  to  the  seed, 
yet  they  are  not  found  so  durable  as  when  they  are  laid  on  in 
pieces;  but  it  is  also  true  that,  in  the  former  case,  they  are  not 
laid  on  so  largely,  for  the  amount  depends  entirely  on  the  size 
of  the  bones.  They  have  been  applied,  in  the  rough  state,  to 
the  extent  of  100  bushels  per  acre;  but  the  average  quantity, 
of  all  sizes,  is  stated,  in  the  Doncaster  Report,  to  be  39 
bushels.  When  the  smaller  bones  are  distinguished  from  the 
larger,  they,  however,  seldom  appear  to  exceed  30  bushels  per 
acre,  and  in  many  cases  do  not  arrive  at  20 :  perhaps  it  may 
be  assumed,  as  the  most  general  practice,  that  half-inch  bones 
are  employed  at  the  rate  of  from  25  to  30,  and  dust  at  20 
bushels  per  acre ;  but  a  distinction  should  be  also  drawn  be- 
tween the  quantity  of  those  which  are  applied  after  being 
manufactured,  and  those  which  are  laid  on  in  a  raw  state. 

The  size  of  the  pieces  to  which  the  bones  should  be  broken 
is  also  an  object  of  some  importance,  as  the  smaller  they  are 
the  more  prompt  will  be  their  effect:  on  which  the  following 
observation  has  been  made  by  one  of  the  correspondents  of  the 
Doncaster  Association : — "That  if  he  meant  to  till  for  early- 
profit,  and  if  he  wished  to  keep  his  land  in  good  heart,  he 
would  use  half-inch  bones;  and,  in  breaking  these,  he  should 
prefer  some  remaining  considerably  larger:"  the  reason 
assigned  for  which  is, — "that  by  using  bones  of  a  large  size, 
with  dust  in  them,  there  must  be  sufficient  of  the  small  par- 
ticles of  the  dust  to  set  the  turnip-crop  forward,  and  sufficient 
of  tiie  large  particles  of  the  bone  left  to  maintain  the  land  in 
good  condition  for  the  last  crop." 

Respectiuir  their  durability,  it  has  been  affirmed,  that  the 
effect  will  not  be  increased  if  they  be  laid  on  to  great  amount; 
for  the  same  produce  has  been  obtained  from  the  comparative 
application  of  50  and  100  bushels;  and  an  experiment  has 
been  tried  by  varying  the  quantity  on  different  ridges  of  a 


ON  MANURES.  Id 

large  extent  of  ground  under  turnips,  at  the  rate  of  28,  40, 
and  larger  quantities  alternately,  without  creating  any  visible 
difference  in  the  crop.  This,  however,  may  be  perfectly  cor- 
rect, so  far  as  regards  one  or  two  crops,  for  it  has  been  found 
that,  when  used  in  large  quantities,  they  have  rendered  the 
land  extraordinarily  productive  during  a  great  length  of  time, 
of  which  we  find  the  following  instances  in  the  Doncaster 
Report: — 

1.  On  a  field,  part  of  which  was  boned  forty  years  ago,  the 
crops  were,  on  that  part,  during  fifteen  or  sixteen  succeeding 
years,  visibly  better  than  the  remainder,  although  the  land 
was  all  of  the  same  quality,  and  the  part  not  boned  was  ma- 
nured with  farm-yard  dung. 

2.  In  another  case,  about  three  acres  of  light  sandy  land 
were  dressed,  in  1814,  with  150  bushels  of  bones  per  acre;  since 
which  time  the  land  is  said  to  have  never  forgotten  it,  but  is 
nearly  as  good  again  as  the  other  part,  farmed  precisely  in 
the  same  way,  with  the  exception  of  the  one  application  of 
bones.* 

We  learn,  also,  from  experiments  at  Kew,  that  although 
they  yield  a  certain  supply  of  nourishment  to  plants  the  mo- 
ment they  are  capable  of  receiving  it,  yet  that  is  done  so 
gradually  as  to  furnish  only  a  regular  and  moderate  supply: 
reasoning  upon  which,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  that  as  a  large 
quantity  does  not  produce  the  efl:ect  of  forcing  a  crop  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  supplied,  neither  can  it  be  so  soon  ex- 
hausted by  the  gradual  consumption  of  the  smaller  quantity. 
This  application  may  therefore  be  perfectly  consistent  with 
good  husbandry,  if  applied  to  any  amount,  however  large; 
though,  as  regards  the  farmer's  purse,  the  expenditure  of  the 
outlay  is  a  different  question.  The  extent  of  their  fertilizing 
quality  is  greater  upon  grass-land,  under  cattle,  than  upon 
arable.  Valuers  estimate  the  allowance  to  a  quitting  tenant, 
by  supposing  the  effect  of  bones  upon  tillage  and  meadow- 

*  About  sixty  years  ago,  a  farmer  is  also  said  to  have  obtained  a  forty- 
year's  lease  of  a  tract  of  poor  land,  in  a  higli  situation  near  Rochdale,  in 
Lancashire,  on  which,  after  fencing  and  draining  it,  he  erected  a  bone-mill, 
and  began  manuring  the  ground  at  the  rate  of  100  to  130  bushels  of  bones 
and  dust  per  acre.  The  consequence  of  which  was,  that  in  a  few  years  he 
let  off  more  land  than  paid  the  rent  of  the  whole,  and  retained  a  large  farm 
in  his  own  hand.  The  Correspondent  of  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Agricul- 
ture, from  whom  these  details  are  taken,  says,  ''that  one  acre  woultf  sum- 
mer a  cow  of  large  size,  and  that  some  fields  were  cropped  with  oats  ten  or 
fifteen  years  in  succession  ;  yet  that  it  is  surprising  to  see  the  herbage  which 
the  land  still  produces,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality,  near  one  haK  being 
white  and  marl  clover.— N.  S.,  vol.  iii.  p.  715. 


162  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

ground  to  be  exhausted  within  four  years;  but  on  grass-land 
depastured  it  is  considered  to  last  during-  eight. 

Experience  seems  to  be  in  favour  of  laying  the  manure  in 
di'ills,  especially  when  applied  to  turnips,  although  the  su- 
periority of  the  broadcast  practice  is  maintained  by  some  very 
intelligent  farmers,  who  hold — that  the  turnip  plant  receives 
its  support  principally  from  the  fibres  which  it  throws  out 
sideways,  to  a  much  greater  length  than  people  will  believe, 
and  derives  more  nourishment  from  them  than  the  tap-root; 
and  that  the  bones  being  dispersed,  the  fibres  are  more  likely 
to  meet  with  them  than  when  they  are  accumulated  round  a 
tap-root;  and  that  method  must  be  the  best  which  occasions 
the  greater  quantity  of  nourishment  to  be  conveyed  to  the 
body  of  the  turnip.  In  drilling  the  bones,  there  is  also  a  diffi- 
culty found  in  the  after-ploughing,  of  mixing  them  with  the 
soil:  and  although  this  may  be  in  some  measure  obviated  by 
cross-ploughing  the  ridges,  yet  that  portion  of  the  land  ou 
which  the  manure  is  thus  laid  receives  more  than  an  equal 
degree  of  benefit.  A  third  mode  is  however  acted  upon  by 
others,  who  sow  them  broadcast,  and  gather  them  into  ridges 
with  a  mould-plough. 

The  time  for  laying  them  upon  the  land,  when  applied  to 
grass,  whether  natural  or  artificial,  is  generally  recommended 
to  be  early  in  the  spring;  but  if  upon  meadow,  the  growth  of 
which  has  been  fed  off",  then  the  moment  the  cattle  are  re- 
moved. Experience,  however,  varies  upon  this  point;  because 
it  has  been  found  materially  to  depend  upon  the  season  and 
the  state  of  the  land,  which,  if  wet,  will  be  more  benefited  by 
delaying  the  operation  until  the  weather  becomes  warm  and 
the  ground  dry. 

When  applied  in  the  drills  of  arable  land,  they  are  of  course 
deposited  along  with  the  seed;  but  when  spread  broadcast, 
then  they  are  not  uncommonly  either  harrowed  in  immediately 
previous  to  the  sowing,  or  with  the  last  ploughing;  though, 
when  used  in  a  fresh  state  without  having  been  subjected  to 
the  process  of  maufacture,  they  should  always  be  laid  in  suf- 
ficiently long  before  the  sowing,  to  allow  them  time  to  fer- 
ment, or  they  will  not  take  immediate  effect  upon  the  rising' 
crop.* 

The  soils  to  which  they  are  best  adapted  are  those  of  a 
light  and  warm  nature;  for  on  wet  and  cold  grounds  they 

*Doncaster  Report,  p.  16. 


ON  MANURES.  163 

have  rarely  been  found  to  produce  any  sensible  benefit.  Their 
power  of  contributing-  to  lighten  strong  land,  by  their  mechani- 
cal action  upon  the  soil,  and  thus  rendering  it  less  adhesive,  has 
indeed  been  vaunted,  and,  if  laid  on  to  a  very  large  amount, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  bones,  in  pieces,  would  have 
some  such  effect;  but  the  smallness  of  the  quantity  in  which 
they  are  usually  applied  renders  their  force  for  that  purpose 
quite  insignificant. 

On  heavy  loams  and  clays,  the  accounts  of  their  operation 
have  been  almost  invariably  unfavourable ;  and  it  may  be  laid 
down  as  a  necessary  qualification  in  a  soil  fit  for  the  applica- 
tion of  bones,  that  it  should  be  dry.  This,  indeed,  has  been 
contradicted  by  experiments  stated  in  the  Doncaster  Report, 
upon  what  is  described  as  a  wet  sand  soil,  with  an  irony- 
coloured  subsoil,  upon  which  two  quarters  per  acre  were 
drilled,  and  produced  an  excellent  crop,  when  manure  had 
been  previously  tried  without  effect.  This,  however,  having 
occurred  in  the  years  1826  and  1827,  which  were  unusually 
dry,  may  serve  to  explain  the  fact,  without  affecting  the  prin- 
ciple that  bone  manure  is  nof  generally  beneficial  to  clay 
lands. 

The  same  Report  states,  that  ^'■upon  very  thin  sandy  land, 
the  value  of  bone  manure  is  not  to  be  estimated;  it  is  not  only 
found  to  benefit  the  particular  crop  to  which  it  is  applied,  but 
extends  through  the  whole  course  of  crops;  and  even  in  the 
succeeding  courses,  its  effects  are  visible  in  the  improved 
quality  of  the  land,  and  the  efficiency  of  a  smaller  quantity 
than  would  at  first  have  insured  a  crop.  Upon  much  of  the 
high  land  about  Babworth,  which  is  a  light^  sandy  soil,  the 
crops  under  ordinary  farm  management  were  comparatively 
jnproductive;  but  since  the  introduction  of  bones,  after  having 
been  dressed  for  several  fallows  with  sixty  or  seventy  bushels 
per  acre,  they  have  not  only  become  productive,  but  so  much 
improved  in  quality  as  to  return  an  equal  crop  with  a  much 
lighter  dressing  of  manure  or  bones  throughout  the  next 
course." 

"  On  the  dry  limestones  near  Doncaster,  the  same  favour- 
able results  have  been  obtained ;  and  no  failures,  beyond  those 
attributable  to  peculiarity  of  season,  are  noticed." 

On  tiie  wolds  of  Yorkshire  and  Lincolnshire,  it  also  ap- 
pears, by  the  testimony  of  several  extensive  farmers,  that 
"before  bones  were  generally  used  with  turnip-seed,  many 
thousand  acres  were  annually  sown  for  that  crop  without  any 


164  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

manure  whatever,  from  the  impossibility  of  getting  fold-ma- 
nure for  more  than  one-third  or  fourth  of  tiieir  fallows.  The 
turnips  upon  such  unmanured  land  were  consequently  very 
indiflerent;  and  the  benefit  of  sheep  feeding  upon  their  tops — 
for  of  bottoms  they  seldom  had  any — was  very  trifling.  Since 
the  use  of  bones,  has  however,  become  general,  the  turnip 
crop  lias  been,  in  many  instances,  ten-fold,  and  in  few  less 
than  four  or  five-fold  its  former  bulk.  All  the  succeeding 
crops  of  grain  and  seeds  have  been  amazingly  increased,  and, 
upon  the  four  or  five-shift  system,  there  is  no  doubt  the  land 
will  go  on  progressively  improving,  requiring  a  less  quantity 
of  bones  annually,  from  its  increased  fertility  and  power." 

On  light  loams,  the  returns  to  the  Doncaster  Committee 
give  bones  a  preference  to  farm-yard  dung.  And  we  learn 
that,  upon  the  calcareous  soil  of  the  Yorkshire  Wolds,  heavy 
crops  of  turnips  have  been  raised  from  16  bushels  per  acre  of 
bones,  while  in  the  same  field,  and  under  similar  circum- 
stances, but  manured  from  the  farm-yard  at  the  rate  of  from  8 
to  10  tons  per  acre,  the  turnips  have  been  of  the  most  inferior 
description. 

On  peat  soils,  if  previously  drained  and  laid  dry,  their  ad- 
vantages are  reported  to  be  so  striking,  that  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  bushels  of  dust  per  acre,  drilled,  have  been  also  found 
to  very  far  surpass  the  ordinary  dressing  of  srable-dung,  and 
even  of  lime  and  pigeons'  dung. 

On  gravels,  the  reports  are  meagre  and  contradictory, 
though  perhaps  reconcilable  in  principle,  as  it  has  been  justly 
observed,  that  "a  gravelly  soil  may  embrace  every  variety  of 
texture  and  qu^^lity,  from  the  light  dry  sand  to  the  water- 
logged yellow  clay — preserving  in  each  the  necessary  admix- 
ture of  stones  and  grit."  To  wet  gravel,  their  application  has 
been  found  decidedly  unfavourable. 

[It  is  much  more  economical  to  treat  bones  with  acid  than 
without.  It  has  been  found  that  burned  bones  are  better  than 
those  not  burned — and  that  there  is  an  advantage  in  using 
boiled  bones  rather  than  fresh.  Of  the  acids,  sulphuric  is 
better  than  muriatic;  because  it  is  cheaper,  has  greater  spe- 
cific gravity  and  contains  less  water.  In  a  dry  season,  how- 
ever, we  should  give  the  preference  to  the  muriatic  acid,  since 
the  chloride  of  lime  formed,  if  not  rather  more  fertilizing  and 
soluble  than  the  sulphate  of  lime,  has  greater  attraction  for 
moisture.  The  smaller  the  fragment  of  bones  submitted  the 
better,  as  they  will  be  more  readily  acted  upon  and  require  a 


ON  MANURES,  165 

much  less  proportion  of  acid  and  water.  The  proportion  must 
be  determined  by  the  specific  gravity.  We  take  that,  ranging 
from  18.45  to  18.50.  Four  bushels  of  bone-dust  will  weigh 
about  180  lbs. ;  often  less,  rarely  more.  This  contains  carbo- 
nate of  lime,  121  lbs.  About  10  lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid  is  neces- 
sary to  convert  this  to  gypsum.  The  quantity  of  phosphate  of 
lime,  in  the  four  bushels  of  bone-dust  is  about  106  lbs.  To 
change  this  into  about  half  gypsum  and  half  super-phosphate 
of  lime,  will  require  about  33  lbs.  of  acid.  Thus  to  180  lbs.  of 
bone-dust  not  less  than  43  lbs.  of  acid  will  be  required.  About 
11  lbs.  of  water  should  be  used.  This  raises  the  heat  and  thus 
facilitates  the  solution.  The  water  should  be  applied  first, 
with  a  watering  pot,  so  as  to  completely  moisten  the  bone- 
dust.  The  bones  becoming  partially  saturated,  the  acid,  from 
its  great  affinity  for  it,  "  rushes  as  it  were,  into  the  pores  of 
the  bones  in  search  of  it,"  and  thus  the  bones  are  more  readily 
acted  upon.  The  best  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  mixture  is  an 
old  sugar  hogshead,  with  its  hole  stopped  up  by  plaster  of 
Paris.  Great  care  should  be  taken  in  handling  the  acid,  as  it 
is  a  dangerous  substance — and  carelessness  may  produce  fear- 
ful accidents.  When  no  other  manure  is  applied  to  a  turnip 
field — the  above  proportions — four  bushels  of  bone-dust  should 
be  applied — but  the  acid  had  better  then  be  increased  to  60  lbs. 
to  the  four  bushels.  It  will  richly  pay,  however,  to  apply  it 
in  the  following  proportions : — twenty  bushels  of  ashes,  a  small 
proportion  of  night-soil  and  four  bushels  of  bone-dust  treated 
with  60  lbs.  of  acid  and  15  lbs.  of  water.  For  turnips,  espe- 
cially Swedes,  it  is  the  most  valuable  and  economical  top- 
dressing  which  can  be  used.  In  truth,  it  is  the  only  manure 
which  can  be  relied  on  for  Swedish  turnips.  This  matter  may 
be  regarded  as  conclusively  settled.  A  very  convenient  way  of 
applying  this  manure,  is  in  a  liquid  state,  by  means  of  a  water 
cart.  Or,  it  may  be  mixed  with  the  ashes,  in  the  proportion 
before  mentioned  and  applied  with  a  drill.] 

Composts. — The  fermentation  of  bone  naturally  leads  to  the 
consideration  of  the  subject  of  forming  a  compost  of  hones  with 
earth  and  other  substances,  by  a  mixture  with  which  they  soon 
become  decayed  and  pulverized — a  practice  which  is  stated  in 
the  Doncaster  Report  to  have  been  recommended  by  several  very 
intelligent  farmers,  thirteen  of  whom,  solely  from  the  results  of 
their  own  experience,  describe  its  eflects  as  superior  to  those  of 
bones  used  singly.  With  some  of  these,  it  is  the  practice  to 
mix  50  bushels  of  bones  with  5  loads  of  burnt  clay,  or  good 


166  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

earth  per  acre ;  b)'  which  dressing,  the  crops  between  fallow 
and  fallow,  excepting  clover,  appear  to  have  been  increased 
one  fifth  in  value.  Others  use  40  bushels  of  bones,  broken 
from  two  to  three  inches,  in  a  compost  with  5  loads  -of  farm- 
yard manure,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  earth,  the  effect  of 
which  has  been  felt  on  the  wheat  crop  at  the  end  of  the  four- 
course  system.  Many  also  mix  up  dung,  soot,  rape-dust,  and 
the  ashes  from  weeds  and  house  fires,  with  the  bones,  by  which 
great  heat  and  consequent  fermentation  is  occasioned. 

The  most  general  practice,  however,  is  to  form  the  compost 
entirely  of  bones  and  yard  muck,  mixed,  in  various  propor- 
tions, with 

From  50  bushels  of  bones  to  4  or  5  of  dung. 
20  do.  4  do. 

12  do.  8  do. 

This,  if  the  heap  be  well  covered,  will  no  doubt  decompose 
the  bones  very  rapidly;  and  one  person  states,  "that  he  has 
used  as  much  as  35  hushels  of  bone-dust,  per  acre,  without 
manure,  in  the  same  field  where  he  laid  six  loads  of  fold  ma- 
nure, and  ten  bushels  of  bone-dust;  but  the  turnips  on  the 
part  manured  with  bone-dust  alone  were  not  so  good  as 
those  on  the  part  manured  with  the  compost  and  the  succeed- 
ing crops  were  still  worse  in  comparison." 

As  the  great  amount  of  bones  now  actually  consumed  as 
manure,  besides  the  quantities  applied  to  other  purposes,  may 
reasonably  excite  an  apprehension  that  the  still  increasing 
demand  will  soon  exceed  the  supply  and  consequently  raise 
the  price,  a  correspondent  of  the  "Quarterly  Journal  of  Agri- 
culture," has  suggested  the  following  economical  method  of 
employing  them,  which  he  has  used  for  the  last  two  years, 
and  by  which  he  states  that  he  has  obtained  heavy  crops  of 
turnips. 

He  forms  a  compost,  as  the  manure  for  one  imperial  acre, 
of  8  bushels  of  coarse  bone-dust,  with  not  less  than  double  that 
quantity  of  coal-ashes,  which  may  be  generally  procured  for 
about  5s.  per  ton.  The  ashes  should  be  carefully  collected  in 
dry  weather  and  placed  under  cover,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  kept  free  from  moisture ;  or,  if  that  be  difficult,  they  mny 
be  strewed  with  a  dusting  of  quicklime :  after  which  they  are 
to  be  riddled  as  small  as  the  dust  itself,  for  otherwise,  if  sown 
with  a  drilling-machine,  they  will  not  pass  easily  through  the 
hopper.     The  bones  are  then  mixed  with  the  ashes;  the  mass 


ON  MANURES.  167 

ferments,  and  evolves  a  considerable  degree  of  heat,  when 
they  soon  become  fit  for  use. 

Turnips  raised  with  this  compost,  he  affirms  to  have  always 
possessed  the  same  characters  of  a  close  crop,  firm  root,  and 
hardiness  to  resist  the  rig-ours  of  winter,  that  turnips  raised 
with  bone-dust  alone  evince;  in  proof  of  which,  lie  has  sold 
them  for  11.  per  acre  to  be  eaten  off  by  sheep.  He,  however, 
supposes  that  it  is  the  bone-dust  alone  which  secures  to  the 
crop  whatever  nourishment  may  be  imparted  to  it  at  the 
future  stages  of  its  growth,  in  which  he  is  doubtless  correct ; 
but  in  imagining  that  he  has  thus  discovered  a  more  economi- 
cal mode  of  their  application  in  their  effect  upon  succeeding 
crops,  we  imagine  that  his  further  experience  will  show  him 
that  he  has  been  deceived;  for  although  the  fermentation  of 
the  bones,  occasioned  by  the  application  of  the  ashes,  may  in- 
crease their  power  upon  the  actual  crop,  it  will  be  propor- 
tionably  diminished  in  those  which  follow,  and  we  think  that 
the  instances  which  we  have  already  stated  must  convince 
practical  men  that  the  durability  of  their  influence  upon  the 
Boil  depends  on  the  quantity  in  which  they  are  applied. 

Application. — Independently  of  the  decided  fertilizing  pro- 
perties of  bones,  when  applied  to  dry  and  light  soils,  they  have 
the  great  advantage  of  being  procurable  at  a  small  expense 
of  carriage,  which  diminishes  the  labour  of  teams  to  a  great 
extent;  for  one  wagon-load  of  100  bushels,  broken  small,  will 
in  most  cases  be  found  equal  to  40  cart-loads  of  yard  manure. 
They  are  also  capable  of  being  preserved  during  a  long  time, 
when  kept  dry,  without  incurring  damage,  and  thus  may  be 
stored  up  during  the  winter  season,  when  farm  business  is  not 
pressing ;  added  to  which,  they  leave  the  land  freer  from 
weeds  than  when  it  is  manured  with  dung.  This  and  their 
suitableness  to  the  drill  husbandry,  renders  them  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  turnips — to  which,  indeed,  they 
have  been  the  most  universally  applied ;  and  we  need  not 
remind  our  readers,  that  on  the  success  of  tliat  crop  generally 
depends  those  of  the  whole  succeeding  course.  The  instances 
are  also  numerous,  upon  all  soils,  of  turnips  being  destroyed 
by  the  fly  when  sown  in  drills,  having  had  the  manure  placed 
directly  under  them ;  when  turnips  sown  in  the  same  field, 
and  on  the  same  day,  with  bone  dust,  have  entirely  escaped 
their  ravages.  Their  value  to  the  holders  of  light  soils,  in 
thus  enabling  them  to  procure  the  certain  means  of  improving 
the  returns  from  their  land,  by  this  increase  of  their  quantity 
o3 


168  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

of  nutritive  matter,  may  therefore  be  considered  inappreciable. 
It  has  been  stated  as  the  comparative  result  of  some  experi- 
ments, that  bone-dust  acts  in  the  cultivation  of  grain,  as  com- 
pared to  the  best  stable  manure,  in  the  following  proportions : 
namely, 

In  respect  to  the  quality  of  the  corn,  as  7  to  5. 

In  respect  to  the  quantity,  as  5  to  4. 

In  respect  to  tlie  durability  of  its  effects  on  the  soil,  as  3  to  2. 

We  cannot  indeed  agree  altogether  in  this  estimate  of  its 
powers,  but  it  requires  no  further  arguments  to  press  its  appli- 
cation upon  the  attention  of  every  farmer,  who  is  in  possession 
of  ground  to  which  it  is  suitable.  We  shall,  therefore,  only 
add  the  following  summary  of  the  rules  for  its  application,  as 
recommended  by  the  members  of  the  Doncaster  Agricultural 
Association,  from  which  it  appears — 

That  on  dry  sands,  limestone,  chalk,  light  loams,  and  peat, 
bones  are  a  very  highly  valuable  manure. 

That  they  may  be  applied  to  grass  with  great  good  effect. 

That  on  arable  lands,  they  may  be  laid  on  fallow  for  turnips, 
or  used  for  any  of  the  subsequent  crops. 

That  the  best  method  of  using  them,  when  broadcast,  is 
previously  to  mix  them  up  in  a  compost  with  earth,  dung,  or 
other  manures,  and  let  them  lie  to  ferment. 

That  if  used  alone,  they  may  be  either  drilled  with  the  seed, 
or  sown  broadcast. 

That  bones  which  have  undergone  the  process  of  fermenta- 
tion are  decidedly  superior  (in  their  immediate  effects)  to  tliose 
which  have  not  done  so. 

That  the  quantity  should  be  about  20  bushels  of  dust,  or  40 
bushels  of  large,  increasing  the  quantity  if  the  land  be  im- 
poverished: and  also,  according  to  our  opinion,  if  the  bones 
have  been  already  manufactured. 

That  upon  clays  and  heavy  loams,  it  does  not  yet  appear 
that  bones  will  answer. 

On  this  latter  observation,  however,  a  farmer  near  Nantwich, 
in  Cheshire,  remarks,  that  he  occupies  a  farm  in  the  township 
of  Pickmore,  the  soil  of  which  is  a  clay  loam,  scarcely  twelve 
inches  deep,  the  sub-soil  a  gray  sand,  mixed  with  coarse  clay : 
which  the  farmers  call  rammel — on  a  bed  of  good  clay  marl. 
Two  years  ago,  he  covered  the  field  with  bone-manure;  pre- 
vious to  which  the  grass  was  so  sour,  as  not  to  be  worth  ten 
shillings  per  acre ;  but  it  is  now  full  of  most  excellent  herbage, 
consisting  of  white  clover  and  trefoil;  to  which  he  adds,  that 


ON  MANURES.  169 

"in  another  of  his  fields,  with  a  clay  soil,  a  small  portion  of  it 
was  manured,  thirty-two  years  ago,  by  a  former  tenant,  with 
bones;  and  that,  although  it  had  been  twenty  yearsjn  tillage, 
yet  that  part  still  shows  a  superiority  over  the  rest.'' 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MISCELLANEOUS    MANURES    CONTINUED. GREEN    CROPS. 

Green  Manures  consist  in  fall  crops  of  succulent  plants,— 
such  as  buck-wheat,  rape,  tares,  and  many  others, — which  are 
ploughed  into  the  land,  and  have  been  applied  in  many  in- 
stances  with  very  singular  advantage,  more  especially  on  cal- 
careous, gravelly,  and  sandy  soils,  the  fertility  of  which  has 
been  thus  greatly  improved.  The  practice  dates  as  far  back 
as  the  time  of  the  ancient  Romans,  and  is  still  continued 
throughout  Italy,  even  in  places  where  the  dung  of  animals 
can  be  procured  in  abundance.  The  climate  of  that  country 
is,  however,  more  favourable  than  ours  to  the  system,  for  the 
corn  harvests  are  so  much  earlier,  that  they  are  oif  the  ground 
in  time  for  succeeding  green  crops  to  arrive  at  full  maturity; 
and  it  is  there  thought  that  nothing  tends  more  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  land  than  ploughing  them  down.*  It  has  indeed 
been  held  by  many  intelligent  men  who  support  an  opposite 
opinion,  that  the  land  which  produces  these  crops  will  be 
deprived  of  their  vegetative  properties  in  proportion  to  their 
luxuriancy ;  and,  therefore,  that,  by  returning  the  crop  into 
the  same  land,  its  fertility  can  only  be  increased  in  the  same 
degree  as  it  was  reduced  by  their  reduction.  This  theory, 
however,  can  only  be  supported  upon  the  principle  that  plants 
are  fed  more  by  the  soil  than  by  the  atmosphere;  whereas  it 

*In  Tuscany,  the  plant  which  is  chiefly  sown  for  this  purpose  is  the  white 
lupin,  a  leguminous  annual  plant,  well  known  in  our  gardens,  which  grows 
in  sandy  and  loamy  soil,  to  the  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  with  a  stem  of 
equal  strength  with  the  bean,  and  bearing  somewhat  similar  blossoms  and 
pods  ;  but  tiie  produce  is  so  bitter  that  it  is  unfit  for  the  nourishujent  of  either 
man  or  beast,. until  prepared  by  some  manufacturing  process.  It  arrives  to 
a  considerable  size  in  the  month  of  October,  when  it  is  ploughed  into  the 
soil ;  and  very  extraordinary  fertilizing  properties  are  attributed  to  its  effects, 
which  are  ascribed  to  the  great  quantity  of  glutten  which  it  is  known  to 
contain. 


170  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

has  hee\i  shown,  by  many  curious  experiments,  that  the  air 
and  water  are  the  chief  sources  of  vegetation;  and  it  is  a 
fact,  that  poor  land,  without  manure,  wiiich  by  the  fortuitous 
chances  of  the  weather  has  produced  tolerable  green  crops, 
has  been  found  more  fertile  after  their  production  than  before. 

When  ploughed  into  the  land,  they  however  often  remain 
for  several  months  before  they  decay,  for  their  decomposition 
goes  on  slowly  beneath  the  soil,  and  they  are  therefore  fre- 
quently more  beneficial  to  the  second  than  to  the  first  crop. 
To  turn  them  in  effectually,  they  should  be  first  heavily 
rolled,  and  then  followed  by  a  trench  plough,  for  the  operation 
cannot  be  completely  performed  with  a  common  plough;  and, 
if  not  entirely  buried,  their  points  stick  out  between  the  fur- 
rows, by  which  they  are  partly  prevented  from  fermenting, 
and  a  portion  of  their  value  as  manure  is  thereby  lost. 

The  time  of  the  year  when  they  should  be  ploughed  in, 
must,  of  course,  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  crop,  which 
should  always  be  buried  before  it  arrives  at  perfect  maturity, 
or  otherwise  it  will  rob  the  land  of  that  nutriment  with  which 
it  is  intended  to  supply  it.  Most  farmers  take  the  first  growth 
of  tares  and  clover,  which,  if  fed  ofl'  early,  is  an  economical 
plan;  but  if  mowed,  it  is  only  doing  the  business  by  halves,  for 
the  land  is  thereby  not  only  deprived  of  the  dung  of  the  cattle, 
but  the  operation  is  then  too  long  delayed,  for  the  work  should 
be  done  in  the  heat  of  the  summer,  or,  at  the  latest,  early  in 
the  autumn,  while  the  sun  lias  the  power  to  forward  the  fer- 
mentation. The  effect,  indeed,  will  greatly  depend  upon  the 
season,  for  the  process  of  fermentation  is  only  slight  when 
checked  by  the  want  of  free  communication  v>-ith  the  air;  and 
if  the  weather  be  cold,  the  power  of  the  manure  will  be  in  a 
great  measure  lost;  but  if  the  season  be  moderately  moist,  and 
very  warm,  the  fermentation  will  be  much  promoted,  and  the 
crop  will  be  converted,  by  putrefaction,  into  a  mass  of  nutritive 
mucilage.  Nothing  short,  however,  of  an  abundant  crop  will 
liave  that  immediate  effect,  as  a  large  mass  decomposes  much 
more  speedily  than  a  small  one;  and,  if  very  scanty,  the  latter 
perhaps  may  not  putrefy  at  all,  or  its  decomposition  will  be  so 
very  gradual  that  the  land  will  be  very  little  perceptibly  the 
better;  but  if  such  a  quantity  be  turned  under  the  earth  as  will 
excite  the  force  of  fermentation,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that 
it  will  then  be  greatly  as  well  as  promptly  benefited.  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  indeed,  says,  "that  this  gradual  decomposition 
affords  a  supply  of  vegetable  mould  for  several  years;"   but 


ON  MANURES.  171 

although  as  a  chemist,  h*e  may  be  right,  yet  every  farmer  must 
know  that,  with  such  materials  to  work  upon  as  cannot  ma- 
terially enrich  the  staple  of  the  soil,  his  object  should  be  to 
obtain  such  immediate  effect  as  will  enable  him  to  put  the 
land  into  a  state  for  growing  one  good  crop,  which,  by  its 
means  of  producing  manure,  will  probably  lead  to  others.  If 
the  question  whether  it  be  most  profitable  to  appropriate  green 
crops  as  the  food  of  cattle,  or  as  manure,  be  put  aside,  and 
that  the  sole  object  is  the  improvement  of  the  land  by  the 
latter  process,  then  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  crop 
should  be  ploughed  down  as  soon  as  it  is  in  bloom,  for  the  land 
will  thus  have  its  full  benefit,  besides  the  partial  advantage  of 
a  bastard  fallow;  to  which,  however,  there  is  this  difficulty 
opposed:  that  the  ground  cannot  be  again  ploughed  until  it 
receives  the  seed  furrow,  and  therefore  cannot  be  cleared 
except  by  the  operation  of  horse-shoeing,  or  scarifying,  which; 
if  the  soil  be  foul,  we  need  not  say  will  prove  ineffectual. 

The  crops  which  are  most  generally  applied  to  this  purpose 
are — buck-wheat,  winter  tares,  the  second  year  of  clover,  and 
rape;  which  last,  from  its  oily  nature  has  been  found  very 
effective.  There  is,  however,  a  plant  which,  although  but 
seldom  sown  in  this  country,  is  very  commonly  grown  through- 
out Flanders,  for  the  pasturage  of  cows,  and  is  there  sown, 
like  brush-turnips,  immediately  after  a  crop  of  wheat,  yet  in  a 
couple  of  months  afterwards  affords  a  large  quantity  of  succu- 
lent food.  Several  trials  of  it  have  also  been  made  with  the 
happiest  results  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  of  its  effects  as  a 
green  manure;  for  it  not  only  possesses  the  advantage  of 
putrefying  with  great  rapidity  when  ploughed  in,  but  also 
that  of  producing  a  crop  by  being  merely  harrowed  across  the 
stubble,  and  the  costs  a  mere  trifle;  it  is  called  spurry. 

Upon  arable  land  which,  from  any  circumstance,  is  deprived 
of  the  benefit  of  a  due  application  of  farm-yard  dung,  or  other 
putrescent  manure,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  green  crops 
of  quick  growth,  abundant  foliage,  and  easy  decomposition, 
may  be  turned  into  the  land  with  considerable  advantage;  but 
we  cannot  accord  in  the  opinion  that  they  will  be  found  an 
effectual  mode  of  improving  exhausted  soils,  for  on  such  land 
they  grow  too  feebly  to  produce  much  effect.  The  ground,  to 
be  benefited  by  their  application,  should  be  capable  of  bringing 
them  forth,  if  not  luxuriantly,  at  least  with  such  abundance  as 
to  furnish  complete  shade  during  their  growth,  and  sufficient 
vegetative    matter  to  occasion  a  rapid   fermentation   when 


172  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

buried :  we  therefore  conceive  that  this  species  of  manure  is 
more  appropriate  for  the  preservation  of  good  soils  in  a  state 
of  fertility,  than  to  the  improvement  of  those  which  are  im- 
poverished. This  probahly  will  in  a  great  measure  account 
for  the  comparative  rarity  of  the  practice  on  extensive  farms 
containing  tracts  of  poor  land,  the  cultivation  of  which  is 
chiefly  dependent  upon  the  fold;  while,  on  those  of  a  richer 
description,  it  may  be  fairly  questioned  whether  the  dung 
made  from  a  large  green  crop,  when  fed  off,  or  soiled,  may 
not  be  equally  beneticial  in  its  effects  upon  the  soil  as  if 
ploughed  down,  besides  the  superior  profit  thus  gained  by  its 
support  of  the  stock. 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

MISCELLANEOUS    MANURES    CONTINUED. OIL    CAKE — RAPE — 

AND    MALT    DUST. 

OiL-CAKE,  though  a  term  generally  applied  to  the  pressed 
seed  of  flax,  as  well  as  that  of  rape,  is,  however,  essentially 
different,  for  the  linseed-cake  is  rarely  applied  to  any  other 
purpose  than  that  of  feeding  cattle,  while  rape-cake  is  used 
solely  as  manure.  When  received  from  the  oil-mills,  where 
the  seed  is  crushed,  the  cakes  of  rape  are  commonly  abont 
4  lbs.  weight,  and  contain  a  small  portion  of  oil,  from  which 
their  fertilizing  quality  is  chiefly  derived;  the  remainder  con- 
sisting of  husk  and  bran.  Those  of  linseed  are  of  a  richer  and 
more  nutritive  substance,  and  consequently  bear  a  much  higher 
price.  There  is,  therefore,  not  only  a  material  difference  in 
their  value,  and  the  uses  to  which  they  are  applied,  but  also 
in  their  quality;  for  some  mills  are  constructed  with  such 
power,  as  to  leave  little  else  than  the  husk  of  the  seed,  and  in 
some  cases  foreign  oil-cake  has  been  re-crushed  in  the  mills 
of  this  country,  by  which  their  value  is  very  much  decreased. 
They  are  in  this  state  very  hard,  and  there  is  such  considerable 
difficulty  in  breaking  them,  that,  when  not  reduced  by  a  re- 
gular crushing  machine,  they  must  be  pounded  with  heavy 
iron  hammers  or  mallets;  though  some  farmers  attach  a  stone 
to  their  thrashing-mill  for  the  purpose  of  grinding  it  to  dust. 


ON  MANURES.  I73 

If  laid  for  some  time  upon  a  damp  clay  floor,  from  which  they 
attract  moisture,  this  operation  will,  however,  be  rendered 
easier,  though  it  should  not  be  carried  too  far,  or  it  will  injure 
the  manure;  and  a  man  can  in  this  manner  break  about4cwt. 
in  the  day  into  pieces  small  enough  to  be  passed  through  such 
a  sieve  as  those  used  in  cleansing  oats;  but  a  mill  with  one 
horse  will  crush  five  tons  within  the  same  time.  The  opera- 
tion for  the  crushing  of  both  linseed  and  rape-cake  is  the  same, 
and  the  former  has,  in  many  instances,  been  also  employed  as 
manure;  but  although  more  effective  when  thus  applied  than 
the  latter,  we  yet  strongly  doubt  the  expediency  of  making 
such  use  of  any  thing  which  is  fit  for  food.  One  load  of  the 
dung  of  beasts  fed  with  linseed-cake  is  thought  worth  nearly 
two  of  any  other;  and  will  enrich  the  land  nearly  as  much  as 
if  the  cake  was  laid  on  in  its  original  state.  The  cheapest 
mode  of  its  employment  will,  consequently,  be  always  found 
to  consist  in  feeding  bullocks  or  sheep,  as  the  linseed-cake  can 
be  both  profitably  used  as  food,  and  will  afterwards  be  nearly 
as  powerful  a  manure.  Our  observations,  therefore,  attach 
solely  to  rape-dust. 

When  sown  broadcast,  it  matters  little  whether  the  cakes 
be  rendered  into  dust,  or  merely  pounded  into  small  pieces; 
but  as  that  mode  of  spreading  them,  though  more  convenient, 
requires  a  larger  quantity  than  when  laid  in  drills,  besides 
being  less  immediately  effective  to  the  crop,  the  practice  has 
now  almost  universally  given  way  to  that  of  drilling,  which  is 
thus  performed : — 

When  laid  in  drills  with  the  seed,  it  is  generally  ground 
fine  by  means  of  a  stone  revolving  on  its  edge,  as  in  a  bark- 
mill,  and  in  this  mode  it  is  usually  applied  when  intended  for 
turnips;  but  for  wheat  it  is  not  uncommon  to  drill  it  between 
the  rows  in  March  or  April,  as,  when  sown  along  with  the 
seed,  it  is  apt  to  render  the  crop  winter-proud.  In  Norfolk, 
Mr.  Coke  is  said  to  have  improved  upon  this  plan,  drilling  one 
half  the  usual  quantity  with  the  seed,  and  the  other  half 
between  the  rows  in  the  spring,  from  an  idea  that  the  plants 
are  more  likely  to  be  then  benefited  by  this  additional  stimulus. 
In  spreading  the  dust  for  turnips,  the  common  drill-barrow 
might  be  supposed  to  answer  very  well;  but  a  layer  of  soil 
should  intervene  between  the  seed  and  the  manure,  tor  if 
applied  directly  to  the  seed,  it  will  be  injured  by  the  fermenta- 
tion which  always  takes  place  in  rape-cake  when  laid  in  the 
land.     Some  drills  are,  however  so  constructed  as  to  cover 


174  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

the  dust  slightly  with  mould  before  the  seed  is  deposited.  For 
wheat,  that  precaution  is  not  necessary,  for  the  same  danger 
is  not  to  be  apprehended  from  fermentation. 

The  crops  to  which  it  is  the  most  generally  applied  are 
turnips  and  wheat;  but,  when  used  for  the  former,  it  is  pre- 
carious in  its  effects,  from  requiring  moisture  either  in  the 
soil,  or  from  the  weather,  to  render  it  operative,  for  it  will 
remains  inactive  until  aided  by  the  natural  coldness  of  the 
land  or  by  rain.  For  the  same  reason  it  is  seldom  used  for 
barley  when  any  other  manure  can  be  obtained,  because,  if 
sown  late  in  the  spring,  the  weather  is  then  usually  dry,  and 
if  the  season  continue  hot,  the  manure  will  not  be  of  the  least 
advantage  to  that  crop:  though,  as  its  powers  will  not  be  ex- 
hausted, it  is  probable  that  it  may  benefit  that  which  follows; 
that,  however,  we  need  not  observe,  is  not  the  immediate 
object  of  the  farmer. 

The  quantity  usually  employed  varies  among  different 
farmers,  some  applying  a  ton  to  three  acres,  others  four,  and 
many  to  six,  according  to  the  condition  of  the  land,  and  the 
goodness  of  the  cake.  At  the  former  rate,  it  is  said  to  have 
been  found  equal  to  12  loads  of  dung  per  acre,  and  that  with 
5  cwt.  per  acre  its  effects  extend  to  two  crops;  but  that  is 
more  generally  limited  to  the  crop  to  which  it  is  applied,  and 
does  not  benefit  the  subsequent  ones.  Mr.  Curwen  used  5 
cwt.  per  acre,  mixed  with  two  tons  of  dung,  as  a  manure  for 
turnips,  and  found  the  crop  admirable.  Fitly  bushels  of  dust 
make  a  ton;  and  the  last  price  at  Mark-lane  was  five  guineas. 

The  soils  to  which  it  is  the  most  applicable  are  considered 
to  be  clays,  and  other  moist  lands ;  but  it  is  generally  thought 
to  be  occasionally  serviceable  to  any  description  of  soil.  It  is 
likewise  said  to  succeed  well  in  wet  seasons,  but  is  found 
injurious  in  very  dry  weather. 

Malt-dust  is  the  refuse  which  falls  from  the  malt  in  the 
process  of  drying,  and  is  extensively  used  as  a  top-dressing,  in 
those  counties  where  the  general  production  of  barley  occasions 
the  establishment  of  large  malting  concerns.  It  is  also  in  some 
places  employed  in  the  feeding  of  milch  cows  and  pigs.  It 
varies,  however,  very  considerably  in  its  effects  as  manure, 
both  in  proportion  to  the  quality  of  the  barley,  and  to  the  de- 
gree of  heat  employed  in  the  operation  of  malting;  for  when 
the  grain  is  equally  good,  the  pale  malt,  which  undergoes  a 
regular  and  uniform  heat  in  the  kiln,  though  considered  more 
lasting  in  its  effects,  is  not  so  stimulant  as  that  which  is  high- 


ON  MANURES.  175 

dried.  The  browner  the  dust,  tlierefore  the  more  active  it  is 
found  to  be  in  its  immediate  application — provided  the  barley 
from  which  it  is  made  be  of  equal  goodness.  Farmers  are, 
therefore,  not  unfrequently  deceived  m  their  expectations  of 
its  powers,  from  the  want  of  proper  attention  to  these  circum- 
stances, for  the  quantity  to  be'  applied  to  the  land  should  be 
regulated  accordingly. 

It  has  been  used  with  considerable  success  upon  stiff  loams, 
and  even  on  sandy  and  chalky  loams,  and  other  calcareous 
hungry  soils;  but  upon  cold,  stiff  land  we  should  recommend 
the  application  of  the  brown  dust,  as  the  most  likely  to  be  ef- 
fectual to  the  crop  in  the  ground.  The  accounts  given  of  its 
influence  upon  the  succeeding  crops  are  by  no  means  favour- 
able, though  in  Walker's  report  of  Hertfordshire,  it  is  said  that 
"these  top-dressings  not  only  supply  the  want  of  previous  ma- 
nure, but  also,  when  crops  are  sickly  and  backward  in  the 
spring,  occasioned  either  by  bad  seed-times,  frosts,  or  other 
causes,  are  attended  with  wonderful  success,  and  enable  the 
crops  to  vegetate  quickly,  and  cover  and  protect  the  soil  on 
which  they  grow  from  the  droughts  of  summer."  He  states, 
indeed,  that  the  farmers  of  that  country  are  chiefly  indebted  to 
its  effects  for  their  never-failing  crops:  and  that,  therefore, 
they  continue  to  enlarge  upon  the  practice,  though  attended 
with  considerable  expense.  To  which  Mr.  Malcolm  adds, 
"that  he  has  seen  an  untoward  season  so  injure  the  young 
barleys  as  to  nearly  annihilate  the  crop,  which  had  been  pre- 
viously dusted,  but  which  was  aflerwards  entirely  recovered 
by  a  repetition  of  the  malt-dust ;  which  shows,  that  although 
from  some  ungenial  circumstances  the  first  manuring  had  not 
been  attended  with  all  the  success  which  might  have  been 
expected,  yet  it  clearly  proves  that  we  should  not  be  afraid  of 
a  second  application,  which  is  often  attended  with  more  than 
ordinary  success."  He,  however,  advises  to  be  laid  on  in  the 
following  quantities: — 

If  top-dressed,  for  wheat,  from  36  to  40  bushels. 

If  drilled  with  the  crop,  for  barley  and  turnips  30  to  34       " 

according  to  the  strength  of  the  soil.  Mr.  Young  says  gene- 
rally from  40  to  60  bushels;  and  states  that  it  greatly  improves 
cold  grass  land:  notwithstanding  which  high  authority,  we  re- 
commend them  to  weigh  the  cost  against  the  probable  increase 
of  produce,  before  they  apply  it.  For  wheat,  it  should  be  laid 
on  some  time  in  March,  just  before  the  usual  change  of  the 
weather,  and  should  be  harrowed  in  with  light  harrows.  For 
P 


176  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

barley  and  turnips,  it  is  usual  to  sow  it  in  with  the  last  har- 
rowing- of  the  seed,  and  then  to  finish  by  rolling-.  The  com- 
mon price  at  most  malt-kilns  is  from  five  to  six  shillings  per 
quarter. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISCELLANEOUS    MANURES    CONTINUED. PEAT    MOSS. 

Peat-moss,  which  is  universally  considered  as  an  inert  mass 
of  half-corrupted  vegetable  matter,  has  been  long  applied  to 
land  in  different  ways,  and,  when  burned,  has  been  already 
treated  of  in  the  chapter  on  Ashes,  When  reduced  to  that 
state,  it  is  of  course  rendered  light  by  combustion,  and  con- 
sequently so  portable  as  to  be  easily  conveyed  to  any  part  of 
the  kingdom;  but  it  is  only  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  bogs  that  it  can  be  used  in  its  natural  state,  for,  even  when 
dried  by  exposure  to  the  air,  its  bulk  is  too  great  to  admit  of 
its  being  carried  to  any  great  distance,  unless  at  such  expense 
as  would  render  its  application  as  manure  unprofitable. 

It  has  been  extensively  used  in  its  natural  state  in  both 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  in  various  parts  of  which  there  are 
large  bogs,  as  well  as  in  some  parts  of  this  country:  it  is,  how- 
however,  very  sluggish  in  becoming  reduced,  and  requires  two 
or  three  years,  with  repeated  turnings  and  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere,  to  bring  it  to  anything  like  the  condition  of  vege- 
tative mould ;  but  being  of  a  cold  nature,  it  is  found,  by  a  heavy 
dressing,  to  cause  considerable  improvement  in  hot,  gravelly, 
and  sandy  soils.  When  brought  to  the  decayed  condition  of 
bog-mould,  or  rich  earth,  it  has  also  been  found  highly  useful 
in  opening  stitf  clay  land,  arid  has  been  largely  used  for  that 
purpose  in  Ireland;  but  on  mellow  friable  soils,  it  is  stated  to 
possess  too  little  substance  to  be  of  much  utility,  and  it  is  said 
that  it  inclines  grass-land  to  the  production  of  moss.  It  is 
likewise  impregnated  with  noxious  roots  and  seeds  of  aquatic 
grasses,  which  when  laid  on  in  its  raw  state,  fill  the  land  with 
those  nuisances ;  and  some  farmers  who  have  thus  applied  it, 
have  occasioned  such  injury  to  their  grass-land,  that  it  has  not 
recovered  for  several  years:  though  a  small  quantity  of  quick- 


ON  MANURES.  177 

lime  sprinkled  sparing-ly  over  the  surface,  after  the  peat  is 
spread,  has  been  known  to  correct  its  bad  effects. 

During  many  years  it  has  been  the  practice  of  farmers  re- 
siding- in  the  vicinity  of  fens,  to  bed  their  cattle  upon  dried 
peat,  as  they  find  that  the  dung  and  urine  occasion  it  to  fer- 
ment and  become  decomposed.  This  is  so  common  in  Ireland, 
that  every  peasant  who  has  a  few  acres  of  ground,  bottoms  his 
dung-stead  with  stuff  drawn  from  the  bogs,  that  he  may  thus 
preserve  the  seep  or  gooding,  as  he  terms  it,  of  his  stable- 
manure.  They  also  mix  the  peat  with  dung  in  various  pro- 
portions— sometimes  one-third  of  the  latter,  at  other  times  one- 
half;  and  in  the  latter  case  have  in  most  instances  found  that 
the  mixture  has  produced  an  equal  crop  with  a  similar  quantity 
of  stable-dung.  In  countries  where  peat-moss  cannot  be  readily 
obtained,  a  proportion  of  moory  soil  may  be  substituted  ;  but  it 
is  not  advisable  that  either  of  these  should  form  the  principal 
part  of  the  compost  heap,  for  neither  of  them  contains  fer- 
tilizing properties  of  sufficient  power  to  act  in  any  other  way 
than  as  alteratives,  until  effectually  decomposed  by  being 
judiciously  blended  with  stimulating  substances.  The  diffi- 
culty of  effecting  this  decomposition  led  to  frequent  disappoint- 
ment in  the  application  of  the  manure,  and  consequently  to 
much  difference  of  opinion  regarding  its  value,  until  ffie  late 
Lord  Meadowbank  happily  overcame  the  objections  to  its  use, 
by  a  scientific  investigation  of  its  properties,  and  directions  for 
its  preparation  in  composts  with  dung,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  summary. 

Composts. — The  peat  of  which  the  compost  is  to  be  partly 
formed  should  be  thrown  out  of  the  pit  some  weeks,  or  even 
months,  previously,  in  order  to  deprive  it  of  its  redundant 
moisture.  By  this  means  it  is  rendered  the  lighter  and  less 
compact  when  made  up  with  fresh  dung  for  fermentation ;  and 
accordingly,  less  dung  is  required  for  the  purpose  than  if  the 
preparation  be  m.ade  with  peat  recently  dug  from  the  pit.  It 
should  be  taken  to  a  dry  spot,  convenient  to  the  field  which  is 
to  be  manured,  and  placed  in  a  row  of  the  length  intended  for 
the  midden.  When  ready  to  be  made  up  into  compost,  half 
the  quantity  of  dung  must  be  carted  out,  and  laid  in  a  parallel 
row  at  such  a  distance  as  wull  allow  the  workmen  to  throw 
the  rows  together  by  the  spade :  the  compost  may  thus  be  laid 
in  the  centre,  and  will  form  the  area  of  the  future  heap,  which 
is  to  be  thus  formed. 

Let  the  workmen  make  a  layer  or  bottom  of  peat  about  six 


178  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

inches  deep,  and  extending  further  than  the  base  of  tho  pro- 
posed midden,  which  is  to  be  thrown  up  in  alternate  layers — 
first,  ten  inches  of  dung  over  the  peat,  then  peat  six  inches, 
dung-  four  inches — thus  diminishing  each  layer  of  dung  until 
the  heap  rises  to  a  height  not  exceeding  between  three  and 
four  feet,  when  the  whole  should  be  covered — lop,  ends,  and 
sides — with  the  remains  of  the  peat;  the  whole  to  be  put 
loosely  together,  and  made  quite  smooth. 

In  mild  weather,  7  cart-loads  of  common  farm-yard  dung, 
tolerably  fresh  made,  is  sufficient  for  21  cart-loads  of  peat- 
moss; but  in  cold  weather,  a  larger  proportion  of  dung  is 
desirable.  The  dung  to  be  used  should  either  have  been 
recently  made,  or  kept  fresh  by  the  compression  of  cattle  or 
carts  passing  over  it;  and  as  some  sorts  of  dung,  even  when 
fresh,  are  much  more  advanced  in  decomposition  than  others, 
it  is  necessary  to  attend  to  this,  for  a  much  less  proportion 
of  dung  that  is  less  advanced  will  serve  the  purpose. 

After  the  compost  is  made  up,  it  gets  into  a  general  heat, 
sooner  or  later,  according  to  the  weather  and  the  condition  of 
the  dung:  in  summer,  in  ten  days,  or  sooner;  in  winter,  not 
perhaps  for  so  many  weeks,  if  the  cold  is  severe.  It  always, 
however,  has  been  found  to  come  on  at  last;  and  in  summer  it 
sometimes  rises  so  high  as  to  be  mischievous  by  becoming  fire- 
fanged.  Sticks  should  therefore  be  kept  thrust  into  different 
parts,  as  by  drawing  them  out  occasionally  the  progress  of  the 
fermentation  may  be  ascertained ;  and  if  so  rapid  as  to  approach 
to  blood-heat,  it  should  be  either  watered  or  turned  over,  and 
a  little  moss  be  added.  The  heat  subsides  after  a  time,  and 
with  variety  proportioned  to  the  season  and  the  perfection  of 
the  compost;  but  when  cooled,  it  may  be  allowed  to  remain 
untouched  till  within  about  three  weeks  of  being  wanted:  it 
should  be  then  turned  over,  upside  down,  and  outside  in,  and 
all  the  lumps  broken;  after  which,  it  comes  into  a  second  heat, 
but  soon  cools,  and  may  be  taken  out  for  use.  In  this  state  the 
whole  appears  a  black  mass,  like  garden  mould,  and,  it  is  said, 
may  be  used  weight  for  weight,  like  farm-yard  manure,  with 
which  it  will  fully  stand  a  comparison  throughout  a  course  of 
cropping.*     Sixteen  single-horse  cart-loads  per  acre  are,  indeed, 


*  To  every  28  cart-loads  of  compost,  when  made  up,  it  is  also  recommended 
to  add  one  cart-load  of  ashes ;  or,  if  these  cannot  be  had,  half  the  quantity 
of  tiiiely  powdered  slaked  lime  may  be  used;  but  these  additions  are  not 
essential  to  the  general  success  of  the  compost,  though  they  will  tend  to 
quicken  the  process. 


ON  MANURES.  17g 

Bald  to  have  produced  comparatively  as  good  a  crop  as  12  of 
farm-yard  dung.* 

By  this  plan  one  ton  of  dung  will  ferment  three  tons  of 
peat;  and  wherever  moss  is  only  two  or  three  miles  distant 
from  the  farm,  this  mode  of  raising  manure  can  be  conlidently 
recommended  as  a  great  acquisition.  His  Lordship  also  tried 
various  experiments  on  the  mixture  of  animal  matter — such  as 
refuse  fish,  whale-blubber,  and  the  scourings  of  the  shambles — • 
with  peat,  without  the  addition  of  any  other  substance,  and 
found  that,  in  the  course  of  about  nine  months,  a  compost 
formed  of  one  ton  of  animal  substance  and  10  or  12  tons  of 
peat,  produced  a  compost  of  superior  power  to  that^composed 
with  dung.  He,  however,  states,  that  peat  prepared  with  lime 
alone  is  not  capable  of  being  decomposed  when  collected  in  a 
heap,  and  has  consequently  not  been  found  to  answer  as  a 
good  manure;  which  opinion  he  supports  upon  chemical  prin- 
ciples, which  we  need  not  now  discuss,  as  experience  proves 
that  he  is  mistaken;  for  not  only  does  peat,  when  compounded 
with  a  small  quantity  of  lime,  obviously  undergo  the  putrid 
fermentation,  but  it  is  well  known  to  many  farmers  that  such 
composts  form  excellent  dressings,  particularly  for  grass-lands. 
In  corroboration  of  which,  there  is  an  experiment  recorded  by 
the  Manchester  Agricultural  Society,  stating,  that  a  compost 
of  119  tons  of  peat-moss  and  lime  having  been  laid  upon  five 
acres  of  a  poor  sandy  soil,  and  harrowed  in  with  oats,  an 
equal  quantity  of  the  same  compost  was  laid  upon  five  acres 
of  thin,  poor  clayey  soil,  and  harrowed  in  with  the  seed, 
which  was  likewise  oats.  The  crop  upon  the  sandy  field  was 
uncommonly  heavy;  that  on  the  clay  land,  though  inferior, 
was,  however,  very  abundant,  considering  the  state  of  the  soil 
previously  to  the  application  of  the  compost. f  To  this  it  may 
be  added,  that  lime  will  operate  in  composts  when  used  upon 
land  which  has  been  previously  exhausted  by  the  application 


*Gen.Rep.  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  n.  p.  550.  In  Holland's  Survey  of  Cheshire, 
it  is  also  mentioned,  that  three  tons  of  compost,  made  from  moss  and  dung, 
having  been  spread  on  part  of  a  meadow,  and  three  tons  of  rotten  dung 
upon  an  equal  portion  of  the  same  field,  it  was  found  that,  although  the 
grass  on  that  part  which  was  covered  with  dung  only,  came  up  as  soon,  and 
upon  the  whole  grew  rather  higher  than  that  on  the  other  part,  yet  the 
latter  was  of  a  darker  green,  and  yielded  nearly  an  eighth  more  when  it 
came  to  be  cut. 

t  In  Malcolm's  Survey  of  Surrey,  it  is,  however  stated,  that  in  one  in- 
stance, on  a  small  piece  of  fallow  sown  with  wheat,  the  application  of  a 
compost  of  peat  and  lime  only  was  manifestly  pernicious. — Vol.  ii.  p.  198. 
The  proportions  of  which  it  is  composed  are  not  stated. 
p2 


180  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

of  lime  and  marl,  although  it  may  have  failed  to  act  when 
used  by  itself;  but  it  is  only  upon  the  varieties  of  deep  argil- 
laceous soils  that  it  can  be  used  with  advantage.  It  is,  indeed, 
generally  supposed  that  the  power  of  the  compost  will  be  in- 
creased if  animal  or  vegetable  matter  be  added;  but  the  mix- 
ture of  quick-lime  and  dung  can  never  be  ad  visible,  for  the 
lime  will  render  some  of  the  most  valuable  parts  of  the  dung 
insoluble. 

Application. — The  practice  most  usually  followed  in  pre- 
paring the  compost  is  to  trench  and  throw  the  moss  up  into 
ridges,  at  the  most  convenient  time  after  the  autumn  sowing, 
that  it  may  be  dried  and  pulverized  by  the  winter's  frost;  and 
towards  the  latter  end  of  February  to  turn  it  over  and  lay  it 
flat,  when  it  will  be  found  considerably  lighter  than  when  it 
was  first  dug  up.  It  is  then  mixed  with  the  dung,  and  the 
process  of  composition  already  stated  is  carried  through  until 
it  is  ready  to  be  laid  upon  tlie  land.  When  made  up  in  Janu- 
ary, such  composts  are  generally  in  good  order  for  the  spring 
crops;  but  this  may  not  happen  in  a  long  frost.  In  summer, 
they  are  ready  in  eight  or  ten  weeks;  but  if  there  should 
exist  any  necessity  for  hastening  the  process,  that  can  be  ef- 
fected by  a  slio'ht  addition  of  ashes,  rubbish  from  old  buildings, 
or  of  lime  slaked  with  foul  water,  and  applied  to  the  dung 
while  the  compost  is  being  made  up. 

Doubts  have  arisen  respecting  the  proper  season  of  laying 
on  this  manure — some  insisting  that  it  should  be  applied  to 
spring  crops — others,  that  it  should  be  ploughed  in  for  wheat 
in  the  autumn;  but  we  believe  that  its  effect  upon  the  land  will, 
in  the  long  run,  be  found  in  either  case  equal. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MISCELLANEOUS    MANURES    CONTINUED. SEA-WARE — KELP — 

REFUSE    FISH BLUBBER    AND    TRAIN-OIL. 

These  manures  being  chiefly  confined  to  the  use  of  farmers 
resident  in  the  vicinity  of  our  coasts,  necessarily  do  not  engage 
much  of  the  attention  of  thote  who  dwell  in  the  interior  of  the 
country;  but  they  are  of  considerable  importance  wherever 


ON  MANURES.  181 

they  can  be  procured  with  facility,  and  therefore  deserve  a 
place  in  any  general  account  of  the  husbandry  of  the  United 
Kingdom. 

Sea-ware,  or  tangle,  in  many  of  those  districts,  forms  an 
article  of  constant  application,  and  when  used  with  judgment, 
never  fails  to  add  to  the  fertility  of  the  land.  On  some  parts 
of  the  coast  immense  quantities  are  thrown  up  by  the  tide, 
when  aided  by  favourable  gales  of  wind;  and  in  those  situa- 
tions where  experience  teaches  its  value,  it  is  seized  on  witii 
great  avidity  as  a  sure  means  of  increasing  the  crops  to  which 
it  can  be  applied ;  while,  in  other  places,  either  from  the  igno- 
rance of  the  farmer,  or  in  some  cases  from  the  want  of  means 
and  hands  to  assist  in  securing  it,  it  is  either  wholly  neglected, 
or  applied  to  other  purposes  than  those  of  manure.  Thus,  in 
the  Orkneys,  the  Western  Islands  of  Scotland,  and  on  the 
coasts  of  Ireland,  it  is  almost  solely  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  kelp,  and  is  even  used  in  a  dried  state  as  fodder  for 
cattle.  In  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  when  a  large  quantity  is  driven 
ashore  after  a  gale  of  wind,  the  farmers  set  all  hands  to  work  to 
get  as  much  as  possible  while  the  tide  serves,  lest  the  current 
should  carry  it  away;  and  even  if  it  happen  in  the  night,  they 
work  at  it  till  stopped  by  the  flow  of  the  sea.  It  is  carted 
through  sloping  passages  cut  in  the  clitf,  and  some  farmers 
will  thus  procure  as  much  as  200  or  300  loads  in  one  tide,  for 
it  sometimes  comes  in  quantities  that  amount  to  many  thou- 
sands, and  is  perhaps  all  swept  away  by  the  next  ebb.  Those 
who  live  at  a  distance,  therefore,  hire  small  spots  of  ground  on 
which"  to  lay  it,  and  carry  it  away  at  a  more  convenient  oppor- 
tunity. The  principal  mode  in  which  it  is  there  used,  is  by 
mixing  it  in  layers  among  the  farm-yard  dung ;  and  it  is  of 
great  use  in  helping  to  rot  the  litter  carried  out  of  the  yard  in 
summer. 

Sea-ware,  although  valuable  as  a  manure,  is  yet  only 
transient  in  its  eflects,  which  do  not  last  more  than  the  crop; 
nor  can  it  be  applied  with  any  advantage,  either  to  clay  soils 
or  in  very  wet  weather.  To  light  land  of  any  description  it 
is,  however,  well  adapted;  and  it  is  very  beneficially  applied 
to  summer  fallows.  When  spread  on  grass-land,  it  is  also 
found  to  improve  the  herbage,  but  it  should  be  spread  evenly, 
and  rather  thinly.  On  arable,  there  is  no  certain  rule  for  the 
quantity  which  may  be  laid  on,  for  it  may  be  employed  to 
almost  any  moderate  amount  without  injury. 

Kelp  is  made  from  burnt  sea- ware;  but  since  the  admission 


182  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

of  foreigii  barilla,  the  manufacture  has  nearly  ceased  through- 
out the  United  Kingdom,  and  it  lias  become  a  matter  of  great 
importance  to  a  very  numerous  class  of  poor  and  industrious 
persons,  formerly  employed  in  its  production,  to  discover  any 
useful  purpose  to  which  it  can  be  applied.  It  requires  about 
'30  tons  of  the  weed  in  its  wet  state  to  produce  one  ton  of 
kelp,  and  it  is  said  to  resemble  peat-ashes  in  its  effects. 

Kelp  when  intended  for  use  as  manure  is  pounded  into  a 
powder,  and  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  the  ashes;  but  its 
causticity  affects  the  hands  of  the  workmen,  and  when  spread 
as  a  top-dressing,  it  is  therefore  prudent  to  mix  it  with  an 
equal  quantity  of  fine  sand,  which  both  prevents  that  injury 
and  facilitates  its  equal  distribution.  In  this  way  it  has  been 
already  employed  with  considerable  advantage. 

Refuse  Fish. — Large  shoals  of  herrings,  pilchards,  and  other 
sea-fish,  periodically  frequent  many  parts  of  the  coasts  of  Great 
Britain,  which,  being  salted,  leave  great  quantities  of  refuse, 
which  are  used  as  manure.*  Sprats,  and  other  small  fry,  are 
also  employed  for  the  same  purpose;  and  in  the  fens  of  Lin- 
colnshire and  Cambridgeshire,  the  small  fish  called  stickle- 
backs abound  in  such  swarms,  that  they  are  frequently  pur- 
chased by  farmers  at  a  very  trifling  cost,  and  either  formed 
into  composts  with  earth,  or  laid  upon  the  land  without  further 
preparation.  One  barrel  of  such  offal  is  mixed  in  about  4  or 
5  cart-loads  of  earth,  sweepings  of  ditches,  or  sand  ;  and  after 
being  well  incorporated,  the  compost  is  usually  applied  at  the 
rate  of  about  20  cart-loads  per  acre,  more  or  less,  according  to 
the  quantity  of  oil  contained  in  the  garbage. 

The  effect  of  a  compost  when  thus  prepared  have  been 
known  to  last  for  a  considerable  time,  and  when  laid  as  a  top- 
dressing  upon  grass-land,  has  produced  very  large  crops;  but 
when  applied  in  that  manner  in  its  natural  state,  it  is  often 
prejudicial  to  the  first  crops;  and  not  very  beneficial  to  those 
which  follow.f  It  should,  therefore,  in  every  case,  be  either 
made   into   a   compost,   and    completely   decomposed;   or,    if 

*In  Scotland,  it  is  calculated  that  14  barrels  of  herrings  yield  one  barrel 
refuse:  pilchards  something  less,  but  containing  rather  more  oily  matter ; 
and  there  are,  besides,  large  quantities  wholly  spoiled.  To  which  may  be 
added,  the  entrails  of  the  cod  and  ling,  which  are  caught  and  salted  "to  a 
vast  amount  in  the  north. 

t  The  manure  produced  in  the  fishing  villages  from  the  oily  and  fishy  sub- 
stances, though  admitted  to  be  favourable  to  bear  (barley)  and  green  crops, 
yet  when  much  used,  is  said  to  render  the  soil  unfit  for  the  production  of 
oats:  "Hence  that  soil  is  called  poisoned." — Sinclair's  Statistical  Account 
of  Scotland,  vol.  vii   p.  201. 


ON  MANURES.  183 

ploughed  into  the  land  without  that  preparation,  it  should 
be  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  quick-lime  or  strong 
ashes,  for  all  oily  substances  are  hurtful  to  vegetation  until 
they  are  dissolved.  We  hear,  indeed,  of  a  crop  of  wheat 
having  been  rendered  so  rank  in  straw  by  the  application 
of  herrings  in  a  raw  state,  that  it  was  entirely  laid  before 
harvest;  and  sprats  are  said  to  produce  great  effects  for 
one  year  upon  the  hop-grounds  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Medvvay ;  but  we  have  no  information  regarding  the  state  of 
the  soil,  nor  the  time  of  the  year,  when  the  former  were 
ploughed  into  the  ground,  nor  whether  the  latter  had  not  also 
been  laid  upon  the  land  toget  -er  with  some  alkaline  manure. 

Oil. — As  all  writers  on  the  application  of  train-oil  and 
blubber,  as  manure,  agree  in  their  opinion  that  it  should  be 
made  into  a  compost,  with  a  large  portion  of  earth,*  and  the 
experience  of  practical  men  in  this  country  has  proved  its 
correctness,  we  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  enlarge  on  the 
subject,  further  than  to  remark,  that  in  some  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent, oil  has  been  found  highly  fertilizing  when  applieu  to 
the  land  in  its  liquid  state,  diluted  with  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  water,  and  spread  moderatelv  over  the  surface. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MISCELLANEOUS     MANURES    CONTINUED. FELLMONGERS'    POAKE 

AND    CUTTINGS TANNERS'    BARK WOOLEN   RAGS    AND 

furriers'    CLIPPINGS SUGAR    SCUM. 

In  consequence  of  the  improvements  in  husbandry,  attempts, 
which  in  former  times  were  little  thought  of,  were  very  gene- 
rally made  to  increase  the  natural  powers  of  the  soil  by  the 
application  of  every  refuse  vegetable  and  animal  substance 
that  could  be  converted  into  manure.  Among  these  are  some 
of  those  which  form  the  subject  of  the  present  chapter ;  but 
being  only  procurable  in  the  neighborhood  of  towns,  and  con- 

*Dr.  Hunter  advises,  in  his  Geological  Essays,  a  compost  formed  of  12  lbs. 
of  American  potash  dissolved  in  four  gallons  of  water,  mixed  vk'ith  20  bushels 
of  dry  mold  and  14  gallons  of  train-oil. 


184  A  PKACTICAL  TREATISE 

Eequently  not  at  the  disposition  of  all  husbandmen,  we  shall 
only  touch  upon  them  slightly. 

Fellmongers'  poake,  which  is  the  waste  arising-  from  the 
preparation  of  skins,  is  compounded  in  various  proportions  of 
lime,  oil,  and  hair,  and  is  of  such  a  caustic  and  lieating  nature, 
that  it  is  rarely  used  in  any  other  state  than  that  of  a  compost 
with  earthy  substances,  and  sometimes,  when  it  is  thought 
expedient  to  increase  the  powers  of  farm  manure,  also  with 
stable-dung.  To  form  this,  whatever  materials  are  intended 
for  the  compost  should  be  mixed  together  in  a  heap,  sur- 
rounded with  maiden  earth,  and  covered,  when  it  begins  to 
ferment,  with  soil  made  fine  and  sloped  so  as  to  throw  off  the 
rain.  When  the  fermentation  has  nearly  subsided,  it  should 
then  be  turned  over,  and  if  some  fresh  litter  be  mixed  with  it, 
the  midden  will  again  immediately  heat;  after  which,  it  may 
be  again  turned  in  three  weeks  or  a  month,  and  in  about  six 
weeks  more,  it  will  be  fit  for  use. 

In  this  state,  it  is  well  calculated  for  cold  and  tenacious 
soils,  as  well  as  for  loams  of  every  description,  and  when  laid 
on  at  the  rate  of  12  to  16  tons  per  acre,  according  to  the 
strength  of  the  land,  it  has  been  known  to  produce  heavy 
crops  for  four  or  five  years  successively.  It  has  also  been 
applied,  in  its  unprepared  state,  as  a  top-dressing  to  sour 
coarse  meadow,  with  very  good  effect;  and  after  having  lain 
three  or  four  months  on  the  field,  and  having  been  frequently 
moved  about  with  the  brush  harrow,  it  has  then  been  raked 
up,  and  laid  upon  the  dungheap.  There  can,  however,  be 
little  doubt  that  much  of  its  valuable  properties  must  have 
been  thus  exhausted  by  the  atmosphere;  which,  if  it  had  been 
made  up  in  the  first  instance  into  a  compost,  would  have  been 
preserved. 

The  clippings,  are  the  parings  and  scrapings  of  the  skins, 
which,  although  generally  used  in  the  manufacture  of  glue, 
have  been  in  many  instances  used  as  manure.  When  ploughed 
in  upon  a  summer  fallow  for  wheat,  these  clippings  have  been 
found  highly  serviceable  to  deep  loamy  land,  and  t»  strong 
soils  which  are  not  too  wet,  for  they  not  only  produce  a  full 
clean  grain,  with  a  bright  strong  straw,  but  the  bulk  of  tlie 
crop  is  also  greatly  increased.  Care  should  however  be  taken 
to  cover  them  well  with  the  soil ;  for,  if  left  near  the  surflice, 
the  putrid  effluvia,  which  they  soon  emit,  attract  the  crows  in 
Bwarms,  ^nd  great  quantities  are  thus  scratched  out  of  the 


ON  MANURES.  185 

ground.  From  30  to  40  bushels  is  the  quantity  usually 
applied  to  an  acre. 

Tanners'  Bark. — The  refuse  of  the  tanneries  consists  partly 
of  the  same  substances  as  fellmongers'  poake;  but  when  the 
bark  is  used  alone,  it  is  chiefly  employed  in  gardens,  as  a 
covering  for  the  beds  of  pineries,  and  in  that  state  has  been 
found  quite  ineffectual  as  manure.  It  has,  however,  in  some 
instances,  been  made  up  as  a  compost  with  lime,  chalk,  earth, 
and  dung,  and  laid  upon  strong  land  with  considerable  advan- 
tage. It  might,  indeed,  be  supposed  that  the  w^hole  value  of 
the  mixture  consisted  in  the  latter  article;  but,  according  to  a 
long  account  of  a  series  of  experiments  made  by  Mr.  Malcolm, 
and  recorded  in  his  Compendium  of  Modern  Husbandry,  the 
bark  would  appear,  by  the  comparative  trials,  to  have  had 
much  good  effect  in  the  composition.  When  mixed  with  lime, 
great  care  is  however  requisite  to  prevent  it  from  catching  fire 
during  its  fermentation,  for  which  purpose  it  should  be  so  com- 
pletely covered  with  earth  as  wholly  to  exclude  the  air.  It 
will,  in  some  cases,  particularly  if  much  mixed  with  earth, 
take  three  or  four  months  to  ferment;  when  it  should  be 
turned  over  at  least  once;  which  further  fermentation  and 
cooling  will  probably  require  a  couple  of  months  longer  before 
it  can  be  in  a  fit  state  to  be  laid  upon  the  land.  As  in  many 
cases  it  is  such  an  incumbrance  to  the  tanners,  that  they  are 
glad  to  get  it  taken  off  their  premises  without  charge,  it  may 
be  worth  the  while  of  farmers  in  their  neighbourhood  to  try  its 
effects. 

Woollen  Rags  and  Furriers'  Clippings. — Rags  are  some- 
times used  in  considerable  quantities  upon  light  chalks  and 
gravelly  soils,  to  which  their  retention  of  wet  renders  them 
particularly  applicable,  and  they  continue  to  act  so  long  as 
they  remain  unrotted  in  the  ground.  They  require  to  be  cut 
into  pieces,  and  are  sometimes  spread  upon  clover-leys  and 
ploughed  in  for  wheat  when  sown  upon  one  ploughing.  Their 
chief  use  is,  however,  to  lay  them  in  hop  grounds,  for  as  they 
act  in  the  nature  of  a  sponge,  they  preserve  the  plantations 
in  a  constant  state  of  moisture  in  the  dry  seasons,  when  in 
land  which  has  been  manured  with  dung  the  hops  have  failed; 
but  in  rainy  seasons  they,  on  the  contrary,  have  been  known 
to  do  injury  by  creating  mould.  The  usual  method  of  thus 
applying  them  is,  to  open  the  hills  and  place  the  rags  round 
the  roots,  a  little  below  the  surface,  and  immediately  to  cover 
them  with  mould :  a  ton  of  rags  being  the  usual  quantity  to  an 


186  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

acre.  They  are  also  frequently  employed  as  top-dressing's  foi 
clover-leys,  and  are  sometimes  ploughed  into  the  land  before 
winter,  when  intended  for  turnips;  for,  if  applied  at  the  time 
of  sowing-,  they  will  not  work  tor  that  crop.  If  used  for  other 
crops,  they  should  be  spread  before  the  last  ploughing,  and 
laid  well  into  the  soil,  or  otherwise  they  are  apt  to  be  raked 
out  by  the  harrrows.  We  have  also  heard  of  their  being 
steeped  in  a  reservoir  of  urine,  kept  in  the  farm-yard,  and 
applied  to  barley  and  clover  with  very  good  effect. 

Sugar-Bakers'  Scum  is  the  skimmings  of  the  sugar  during 
the  operation  of  refining,  m  which  process  it  is  boiled  with  a 
portion  of  bullock's  blood  and  lime-water.  The  albumen  con- 
tained in  the  blood  coagulates  on  the  application  of  heat,  and 
rises  to  the  top  of  the  pan,  carrying  with  it  the  impurities 
contained  in  the  solution  which  is  thus  clarified,  and  the  dregs 
are  used  as  manure.  This  refuse  is  of  a  very  caustic  nature, 
and  is  therefore  not  well  adapted  to  light  soils ;  nor,  indeed, 
has  it  been  found  to  answer  upon  arable  land  of  any  descrip- 
tion ;  but  it  has  very  considerably  enriched  meadows  of  cold 
retentive  clay,  and  is  therefore  used  to  some  extent  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  great  seaports  which  trade  with  the  West 
Indies, 

The  mode  of  applying  it  is  to  break  the  lumps,  and  to  spread  it 
evenly  and  thinly,  if  laid  on  in  its  raw  state ;  but  a  better  method 
is  to  mix  two  or  three  cart-loads  of  road  sand  with  one  of  scum, 
and  to  apply  the  mixture,  without  waiting  for  its  fermentation, 
at  the  rate  of  about  30  loads  per  acre;  a  few  more  or  less,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  land.  It  may  be  had  at  most  sugar- 
bakers  at  about  four  to  five  shillings  the  cart-load,  containing 
at  least  a  ton. 

[Guano,  owing  its  fertilizing  properties  to  its  uncombined 
ammonia,  is  coming  much  into  use.  The  best  system  for 
using  it,  is  to  spread  and  plough  it  in.  About  500  lbs,  to  the 
acre  is  a  proper  paying  proportion.  For  Indian  corn,  it  is  un- 
surpassed. For  turnips,  after  bruising  and  powdering  it,  apply 
it  by  hand  in  the  drills.  Care  must  be  taken  that  it  does  not 
come  in  contact  with  the  seed.  The  guano  should  be  applied, 
and  after  the  falling  of  the  earth  in  the  drill  covers  it,  the  seed 
are  planted.  The  proportion  for  turnips,  you  may  apply  about 
450 lbs.  to  the  acre.  It  is  valuable  as  a  top-dressuig  to  green 
or  growing  plants,  especially  to  grass.  But  bone-dust  treated 
with  acid,  as  before-described,  is  a  preferable  manure  for 
turnips,  especially  Swedes.] 


ON  MANURES.  187 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MISCELLANEOUS  MANURES  CONTINUED. CLAY SAND — POND, 

RIVER,  AND  SEA  MUD. 

Clay. — Such  frequent  allusion  has  been  already  made  to 
the  expediency  of  mixing  together  diflerent  soils  of  a  marked 
character,  as  a  means  of  ameliorating  their  distinct  qualities, 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  that  recommendation,  when- 
ever it  can  be  carried  into  eliect  with  moderate  expense. 
This  advantage  is  in  no  case  more  fully  evinced  than  by  lay- 
ing clay  upon  sand  lands,  whether  they  be  of  the  red,  rich,  or 
more  valuable  descriptions,  or  those  of  an  inferior  quality 
which  usually  contain  a  portion  of  moor  and  white  sand.  On 
the  former,  about  50  tons  per  acre  will  effect  a  vast  improve- 
ment ;  but  the  latter  are  seldom  brought  into  a  fertile  state 
with  less  than  treble  that  quantity.  The  most  eligible  period 
to  apply  it  is  in  the  autumn  or  early  part  of  the  winter,  when 
the  land  is  in  grass,  and  intended  to  be  broken  up  for  a  crop 
of  corn;  or  otherwise  at  the  same  period  when  intended  for 
fallow.  The  frost,  rain,  and  drying  winds  will  then  cause  the 
lumps  of  clay,  however  large,  to  open,  and  by  repeated  slight 
harrowing,  to  divide  and  intimately  cover  the  surface  before 
the  land  is  ploughed, — a  circumstance  of  little  trouble  if 
attended  to  at  the  proper  season,  though,  if  not  so  reduced 
before  the  land  is  ploughed,  large  pieces  of  clay  will  be 
found  to  have  been  preserved  from  the  atmospheric  influence, 
and  consequently  unbroken  and  unprofitable  many  years  after- 
wards. It  is  more  profitable  to  repeat  the  operation  afler  aa 
interval  of  a  few  years,  rather  than  to  lay  on  an  immense 
quantity  at  once,  as  by  this  means  the  clay  gets  more  tho- 
roughly incorporated  with  the  sand;  and  it  will  be  obvious 
that  the  first  ploughing  ought  not  to  be  to  the  full  deptb,  lest 
the  clay  be  lost.  It  is,  however,  scarcely  practicable  to  lay 
clay,  in  its  natural  state,  upon  sand,  both  because  of  the 
great  labour  of  digging,  and  afterwards  preparing  it  with  the 
requisite  degree  of  care  for  mixture.  If  not  rendered  so  fine 
as  to  be  perfectly  incorporated  with  the  sand,  its  tendency  to 
sink  through  light  land  gradually  brings  it  to  the  bottom,  and 
renders  it  afterwards  useless,  if  not  injurious,  by  forming  a 
retentive  subsoil. 

Sand  is,  however,  not  exposed  to  the  same  objections,  for 


188       '  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

it  is  dug  with  less  labour,  and  does  not  require  any  furthei 
trouble  in  its  preparation.  Its  application  as  an  alterative  for 
stiff  clay  land  is  of  the  greatest  advantage;  for  its  intermix- 
ture with  the  soil — which  is  effected  by  various  means — has  a 
tendency  to  lighten  the  land,  and  to  bring  it  to  that  loamy 
state  which  is  the  most  favourable  to  the  purposes  of  vegeta- 
tion. In  this  respect  its  action  is  the  counterpart  to  that  of 
marl,  as  applied  to  light  sandy  ground ;  for  in  both  cases  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  farmer  to  bring  his  land  into  that  state 
which  is  the  most  likely  to  be  productive.  Marl,  by  stiffening 
it,  produces  this  effect  in  the  one  instance;  and  sand,  by 
loosening  it,  in  the  other. 

Until  about  half  a  century  ago,  this  plan  was  very  little 
known  as  an  improvement  to  the  soil,  when  a  spirited  agri- 
culturist in  Cheshire  began  to  use  considerable  quantities; 
sometimes  mixing  it  wath  dung,  and  sometin)es  laying  it  raw 
on  his  grass-lands.  The  success  which  mvariably  attended 
these  experiments,  at  length  induced  several  farmers  in  his 
neighbourhood  to  follow  his  example,  and  the  practice  has 
since  been  very  generally  adopted  in  many  of  the  principal 
dairy-farms  in  the  middle  of  the  county:  deep  beds  of  sand 
being  there  frequently  met  with  under  the  clay,  which  pre- 
dominates as  the  superficial  stratum  of  the  soil.  The  mode 
of  employing  it  is  thus  described  by  a  landowner  who  has 
employed  it  extensively  with  the  greatest  advantage: — 

'  When  there  is  a  piece  of  strong  clay-land  in  tillage,  and 
the  farmer  has  an  opportunity  of  covering  it  over  with  sand, 
about  twice  as  thick  as  in  a  common  set  of  manure,  the  soil 
will  be  pulverized  and  opened  by  this  means — will  give 
better  crops  when  in  tillage,  and  when  laid  down  will  produce 
a  finer  herbage,  less  liable  to  be  parched  in  dry,  or  trod  down 
in  wet  seasons.  It  is  excellent  management  in  the  farmer, 
before  he  ties  up  his  cattle  for  winter,  to  lay  a  coat  of  sand, 
at  least  a  foot  in  thickness,  where  he  intends  to  throw  his 
dung  out  of  the  cow-houses.  The  dung  should  be  repeatedly 
levelled  on  the  sand,  and  a  second  coat  of  the  latter  laid  on 
towards  the  end  of  February ;  upon  which  should  be  put  the 
remainder  of  the  dung  procured  before  the  cattle  go  to  grass. 
As  soon  after  this  time  as  possible,  the  compost  should  be 
either  turned  and  well  mixed  where  it  lies,  or  filled  into  the 
dung-carts,  and  taken  away  to  some  situation  near  the  land  on 
which  it  is  intended  to  U5«  it.  Here  it  should  be  laid  in  a 
heap  of  at  least  two  yards  in  thickness;  and  after  remainino* 


ON  MANURES.  '    189 

two  or  three  months  in  this  state,  it  is  in  excellent  condition 
for  putting-  on  the  land. 

This,  however,  only  alludes  to  its  employment  as  a  com- 
post; but  if  laid  in  its  natural  state,  either  as  a  top-dressing 
upon  meadow  of  a  stiff  nature,  or  slig-htly  ploughed  in  upon 
heavy  arable  land,  it  will  be  found  to  eftect  a  permanent  im- 
provement in  the  soil.  It  must,  in  the  latter  case,  however, 
be  laid  on  in  very  large  quantities;  perhaps  not  less  than  two 
to  three  hundred  cart-loads  or  cubic  yards.*  This,  of  course, 
cannot  be  accomplished  with  prudence,  unless  the  sand  lies 
either  under  the  clay,  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
farm ;  and  even  in  that  case,  the  expense  of  cartage,  if  calcu- 
lated at  its  cost  in  money,  would  appear  too  serious  to  admit 
of  much  chance  of  profitable  remuneration.  Many  circum- 
stances are,  however,  continually  occurring  on  every  farm  to 
prevent  the  constant  occupation  of  teams:  on  those  days  they 
may  be  invariably  employed  in  the  cartage  of  the  sand,  with- 
out any  charge  except  that  of  day-labourers  to  dig;  and  if  it 
cannot  be  immediately  spread  upon  the  land,  it  may  be  laid 
up  on  the  headlands  of  the  field  to  which  it  is  intended  to  be 
applied. 

Mud. — The  mud  from  ponds,  when  they  are  cleaned  out, 
has  always  been  an  object  of  attention  to  farmers,  so  far  as 
regards  its  collection;  but  it  must  be  presumed  that  its  dif- 
ferent properties,  and  consequently  the  most  judicious  mode 
of  its  application  to  the  land,  are  either  but  little  understood, 
or  neglected:  for  some  cart  it  directly  upon  the  ground,  and 
plough  it  in  either  for  turnips,  or  for  corn-crops;  others  spread 
it  upon  old  leys;  and  many  lay  it  out  in  thin  heaps  to  dry, 
after  which  they  mix  it  with  lime,  chalk  or  dung.  Upon  this 
it  has  been  remarked  by  an  eminent  agriculturist,  "that  in 
reasoning  with  the  farmers  upon  the  cause  or  principle  by 
which  they  are  guided  in  those  diflferent  proceedings,  the 
reply  is  generally,  '  that  it  has  been  their  practice  to  do  so — 
that  it  has  answered  very  well — and  that  they  know  of  no 
better  mode  of  treating  it.'  From  which  we  are  necessarily 
led  to  conclude,  that  upon  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same  sort 


*It  has  been  laid  on  a  large  extent  of  drained  moss,  in  Dumfriesshire,  at 
the  rate  of  a  single-horse  cart-load  to  every  square  yard  of  surface,  though 
the  land  was  in  such  a  soft  state  that  the  sand  could  only  be  carted  by  horses 
with  wooden  clogs  or  pattens  on  their  hind  feet.  The  expense  must,  there- 
fore, have  been  enormous  ;  yet  the  improvement  in  the  land  seems  to  have 
reimbursed  the  proprietor.— See  Dr.  Singer's  Survey,  p.  309. 


190  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

of  soil,  these  different  practices  cannot  be  right.  It  therefore 
becomes  necessary  to  consider  what  is  the  usual  composition 
of  the  sediment  of  ponds, — tlien  to  point  out,  as  correctly  as 
we  are  able,  the  best  way  of  preparinfr  it  for  use — the  soils  to 
which  it  should  be. applied — and  the  crops  which  ought  to 
succeed  such  application. "(") 

Upon  this  it  may  be  observed,  that  ponds,  being  usually 
placed  at  the  lower  part  of  the  fields,  receive  after  every  hard 
rain  a  part  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  of  the  substances  with  which 
they  have  been  manured.  If  the  ponds  be  large  and  deep, 
they  may  also  acquire  much  decayed  vegetable  matter,  arising 
from  the  aquatic  plants  with  which  such  pools  usually  abound ; 
and  if  near  to  the  yards  at  which  cattle  are  commonly  watered, 
they  must  likewise  receive  a  portion  of  their  dung:  such  mud 
is  therefore,  particularly  applicable  to  light  soils,  both  as  con- 
taining nutritive  matter,  and  ad4ing  to  the  staple  and  con- 
sistency of  tlie  land.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  ponds  contain 
springs,  the  sediment  taken  from  them  will  be  found  unfit  for 
vegetation,  for  it  contains  more  sand  than  vegetable  matter, 
and  it  hardens  upon  exposure  to  the  sun;  it  may,  however,  be 
useful  in  killing  the  rushes  and  coarse  weeds  upon  low  sour 
meadows,  but  prejudicial  if  applied  to  uplands.  It  is  therefore 
evident  that  the  mud  must  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  various 
ingredients  of  which  it  is  composed ;  and  therefo'  e  every 
farmer  should  take  these  circumstances  into  consideration 
before  he  applies  it  to  his  ground. 

The  most  common  time  of  mudding  ponds  is  during  the 
summer  months,  when  it  is  usual  to  let  the  slime  lie  near  the 
edge  of  the  pond  until  the  water  is  drained  from  it.  A  spot 
is  then  marked,  either  upon  a  headland  of  the  field  upon  which 
it  is  to  be  laid,  or  as  near  to  it  as  possible,  of  a  size  to  raise  a 
compost  with  alternate  layers  of  either  lime  or  dung.  If  dung 
can  be  had,  the  best  mode  of  preparing  this  manure  is  to  lay  a 
foundation  of  mud,  of  about  a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half  in  depth, 
of  an  oblong  form,  and  not  more  than  eight  feet  in  width 
upon  which  the  freshest  yard  dung  is  laid  to  about  double  that 
depth;  then  a  thin  layer  of  mud;  after  which,  alternate  layers 
of  mud  and  dung,  until  the  heap  be  raised  to  about  five  or  six 
feet  in  height — keeping  the  sides  and  ends  square,  and  coating 
the  whole  with  mud.     It  should  then  be  left  to  ferment;  after 


(a)  [Pond  mud  should  lay  out  one  winter  in  low  heaps.    In  the  spring 
make  up  into  compost.] 


ON  MANURES.  igj 

which  it  must  be  again  turned,  at  least  twice,  at  different 
periods. 

If  quicklime  be  used,  and  there  remains  any  moisture  in 
the  pond  scourings,  it  will  be  sufficiently  fallen  for  turning-  in 
a  few  days, — but  if  the  compost  be  made  with  farm-yard  dung, 
it  may  require  to  remain  for  six  or  eight  weeks  to  ferment 
and  decompose  before  it  is  in  a  proper  state  for  turning.  To 
derive  the  greatest  advantage  from  composts,  it  is  necessary  to 
mix  them  thoroughly,  which  can  only  be  effected  by  repeated 
and  careful  turnings.  To  form  them,  in  the  first  instance, 
with  both  quicklime  and  manure  is  injudicious:  the  former 
ought  never  to  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  latter — 
though  manures  may  be  advantageously  incorporated  witban 
old  compost,  in  which  a  little  lime  has  been  used. 

These  composts  may  be  applied  at  the  rate  of  16  to  20  cubical 
yards  for  strong  loams,  and  upon  light  loams  in  a  rather  smaller 
proportion.  Pond  mud  is  however  not  unfrequently  used,  in  an 
unprepared  state,  upon  grass-lands;  but  the  accounts  given  of 
its  effects  are  so  different,  and  the  experiments  are  so  inaccu- 
rately stated,  that  we  might  mislead  our  readers  were  we  to 
detail  them.  Were  attention  paid  to  the  properties  of  the 
mud,  and  to  the  quality  of  the  soil  on  which  it  is  to  be  laid — in 
the  manner  already  alluded  to — there  can,  however,  be  little 
doubt  that  errors  in  its  application  might  be  avoided.  It 
appears  the  better  mode  to  apply  it  in  the  latter  end  of 
autumn,  or  the  early  part  of  winter,  and  to  bush-harrow  it 
well  after  it  has  been  hardened  by  the  frost. 

River  7nud  in  creeks,  or  banks,  from  which  it  can  be  col- 
lected, answers  the  same  description,  and  is  also  extensively 
employed  in  some  districts  in  the  operation  of  warping. 

kea  mud  or  sleech,  has  also  been  used  in  some  places  in 
very  large  quantities,  and  has  been  found  of  so  very  enriching 
a  nature,  that  it  was  thought  worth  while  to  carry  it  in  barges 
up  the  river  Mersey,  to  the  estates  of  the  late  Duke  of  Bridge- 
water,  at  Worsley,  in  Lancashire.  It  abounds  at  the  mouths  of 
many  of  the  friths  and  rivers  which  run  into  the  sea;  and  one 
gentleman,  who  has  used  it  for  upwards  of  half  a  century  in 
Cheshire,  asserts  that  no  other  manure  is  equal  to  it  either  for 
corn  or  grass.  It  is  there,  however,  always  laid  upon  grass, 
and  ploughed  in  without  any  addition  in  the  following  spring. 
If  the  ensuing  March  be  dry,  and  there  has  been  much  fro*t 
in  the  winter,  a  heavy  pair  of  harrows  will  prepare  it  for  the 
plough;  otherwise,  it  must  be  chopped  with  spades.  The 
a  2 


192  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

land  is  then  generally  sown  with  oats,  followed  by  barley  or 
potatoes,  and  the  third  year  by  wheat.  The  fourth  year  the 
land  is  laid  down  either  with  oats  or  barley,  clover  and  grasses, 
and  the  crops  are  said  to  be  very  great.  It  is  also  found  that 
its  effects  remain  longer  on  the  land  than  marl;  and  although 
that  which  is  over-marled  is  spoiled  for  grass,  yet  that  never 
happens  to  sea  mud.  In  many  parts  of  Scotland  it  has  also 
been  found  to  answer  very  well  for  the  improvement  of  moss ; 
upon  which,  after  it  has  been  well  drained,  the  sleech  is  laid, 
to  the  amount  of  100  single-horse  cart-loads  per  acre.  To 
this,  however,  we  must  add,  that  the  repetition  of  it  in  large 
quantities  fails  of  its  former  effects.  In  Sussex  it  has  been 
used  to  the  extent  of  1200  to  1300  bushels  per  acre;  but  on 
those  farms  where  it  has  been  too  frequently  used,  and  which 
are  thus  said  to  have  been  "over-dosed,"  it  is  no  longer  found 
to  be  of  any  service,  (a) 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MANURES     IN    GENERAL. PUTRESCENT,     MINERAL,     AND 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

It  is  notorious  that  a  great  number  of  farmers  are  either 
ignorant  of  the  most  judicious  mode  of  application,  or  negligent 
of  the  means  of  increase  and  preservation.  The  latter  remark 
applies  more  especially  to  farm-yard  manure,  which  no  one  can 
ride  over  any  part  of  the  country  without  seeing  wasted — dung 
carted  out  of  the  yards  and  thrown  up  by  the  side  of  some  lane 
without  any  foundation  or  further  care,  until,  perhaps,  after 
having  become  mouldy  and  fire-fanged,  it  is  at  length  turned 
over,  while  the  best  part  of  its  juices  have  been  allowed  to  run 
into  the  ditches,  or  to  stagnate  around  the  heaps;  thus,  neither 
assisting  the  proper  fermentation  of  the  dung,  nor  mixing  the 
heap  at  such  regular  periods  as  to  ensure  its  being  all  of  one 
quality.* 

(a)  [The  Albany  Cultivator — good  authority — says  in  regard  to  muck. — 
"Mix  it  with  unleached  ashes,  at  tlie  rate  of  from  one  to  three  bushels  pel 
cart-load.     Let  it  lie  in  a  heap  a  month,  if  practicable,  before  used."] 

*On  this,  however,  the  following  remark  has  been  inserted  in  the  Report 


ON  MANURES.  198 

We  have  already  stated  our  opinion  so  clearly  on  the  subject 
of  fermentation,  in  our  view  of  putrescent  manures,  that  it  may 
be  thought  hardly  necessary  to  add  any  thing  to  the  discussion 
of  the  point  in  dispute;  yet  as  many  farmers  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  reasoning  of  chemists,  who  possess  no  practical 
knowledge  of  agriculture,  in  favour  of  the  invariable  applica- 
tion of  long  dung — though  opposed  by  experience — and  as  it 
is  extremely  important  that  the  question  should  be  set  at  rest, 
we  request  serious  attention  to  the  following  extracts  from  an 
able  article  which  has  appeared  in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Agriculture  since  the  publication  of  what  we  had  written.* 

It  was  promulgated  as  the  opinion  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy, 
in  1809,  and  it  has  till  lately  obtained  the  confidence  of  most 
chemists,  that  ^As  soon  as  dung  begins  to  decompose,  it 
throws  off  its  volatile  parts,  which  are  the  most  valuable  and 
most  efficient.  Dung  which  has  fermented,  so  as  to  become 
a  mere  soft  cohesive  mass,  has  generally  lost  from  one-third 
to  one  one-half  of  its  most  useful  constituent  elements;  and 
that  it  may  exert  its  full  action  upon  the  plant,  and  lose  none 
of  its  nutritive  powers,  it  should  evidently  be  applied  much 
sooner,  and  long  before  decomposition  has  arrived  at  its 
ultimate  result.^  Experience  has  nevertheless,  acted  in  direct 
opposition  to  this  opinion.  Manure  has  been  continually  ap- 
plied in  'a  soft  cohesive  mass,'  and  it  has  continued  to  raise 
large  crops ;  whereas,  had  it  been  applied  '  long  before  decom- 
position had  arrived  at  its  ultimate  result,'  that  result  would 
probably  have  been  a  loss  of  crop,  manure,  and  labour. 

'It  is  certainly  an  erroneous  assumption  to  say  the  first 
stage  of  fermentation  in  dung  must  necessarily  throw  off  its 
most  valuable  parts.     Every  dunghill  of  fresh  dung  throws  off 

of  the  Committee  of  the  Doncaster  Agricultural  Association  upon  bone  ma- 
nure— 'The  general  mode  of  managing  fold  manure  is  erroneous,  both  as  to 
the  expense  incurred  and  loss  from  evaporation.  To  prevent  both,  upon 
carrying  it  out  to  the  field,  it  should  be  forked  up  to  a  considerable  height, 
and  the  whole  covered  with  the  soil  nearest  to  the  heap;  a  long  heap,  like 
a  potato  heap,  is  therefore  best;  as  it  accumulates,  taking  care  always  to 
cover  the  whole  of  the  day's  loading,  excepting  the  end  to  which  the  next 
day's  work  is  to  be  added.  The  confinement  of  the  steam,  which  is  always 
observed  upon  a  fresh-made  heap  of  manure,  effectually  secures  the  de- 
composition of  the  whole;  which  will  cut  out  like  a  jelly,  without  tke  usual 
process  of  turnim^  over  and  over.' 

*  No.  xxiii.  pp.  617  to  624.  The  discoveries  alluded  to  relate  to  a  substance 
which  chemists  call  Humin,  which  is  said  to  exist  in  all  soils,  and  to  be  formed 
of  carbon  and  hydrogen.  The  Htimic  acid  is  composed  of  humin  and  oxygen, 
and  its  properties  enable  it  tocombine  with  lime,  potass,  ammonia,  and  many 
BUbstances  found  in  soils  and  manures,  and  renders  them  easy  to  be  dissolved 
in  water,  which  could  not  be  done  in  their  seoarate  state. 


194  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

a  gaseous  exhalation  a  very  short  time  after  it  is  put  together; 
and  the  quantity  thus  thrown  off  is  regulated  by  the  state  of 
the  atmosphere.  But  this  exhalation  does  not  consist  of  the 
valuable  gases;  it  is  a  mere  evaporation  of  the  water  contained 
in  the  dung.  The  same  hot  haze  may  be  seen  flickering  over 
a  fallow  field  in  a  sunny  day  in  summer.  Nobody  could  with 
truth  assert,  that  this  haze  arises  from  the  disengagement  of 
the  gases  in  the  dung  which  had  previously  been  inserted  into 
the  soil,  when  it  is  clearly  nothing  more  than  the  evaporation 
of  the  moisture  in  the  soil.  To  say,  therefore,  the  first  stage 
of  decomposition  in  a  dunghill  throws  off^  "the  most  valuable 
and  the  most  efficient"  parts  of  the  dung,  is  just  to  say  the 
vapour  of  water  is  the  most  valuable  part  of  dung. 

*It  is  true,  were  the  fermentation  continued  after  all  the 
water  in  the  dung  was  evaporated,  a  considerable  increase  of 
temperature  would  ensue;  and  when  the  texture  of  the  fibrous 
portions  of  the  manure  began  to  decompose,  there  would  be  an 
evolution  of  valuable  gases.  Direct  experiment  has  proved 
the  escape  of  gases  from  a  heap  of  dung  which  has  been  long 
fermenting.  But  what  harm  accrues  to  the  dung  as  a  manure 
from  the  escape  of  these  gases'?  None  whatever.  We  are 
told  these  gases  constitute  the  food  of  plants,  and  if  they  are 
permitted  to  be  dissipated  by  decomposition,  the  quantity  of 
nourishment  in  the  heap  of  manure  will  of  course  be  so  much 
diminished ;  that  if  the  bulk  of  the  dungheap  be  diminished 
one-half  or  one-third  by  excessive  fermentation,  the  quantity 
of  nourishment  to  the  crops  will  be  diminished  in  a  greater 
ratio.  These  cautions  have  long  been  whispered  in  the  ears 
of  practical  men,  but  they  have  listened  to  the  advice  w4th  a 
provoking  indifl^erence.  Like  ducklings  w^hen  they  first  take 
the  water,  they  have  continued  to  disregard  every  remon- 
strance of  their  foster  brethren  against  injurious  practices, 
raising  and  devouring  their  food,  and  enjoying  themselves 
with  the  greatest  complacency  in  their  vocation.  It  is  true, 
and  we  must  admit  it,  that  some  of  the  gases  constitute  the 
food  of  plants,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  plants  would  receive 
them  as  food  directly  as  they  are  disengaged  from  a  ferment- 
ing and  heated  mass ;  nay,  it  is  probable  they  would  rather 
reject  the  food  that  would  injure  them.  But  as  plants  are  not 
endowed  with  locomotive  powers,  they  cannot  avoid  the  food 
which  is  directly  presented  to  them;  they  will  therefore  be 
obliged  to  partake  of  it  even  in  an  injurious  state,  and  in  thus 
taking   it   they   die.     Accordingly,    we   invariably   fiind   that 


ON  MANURES.  195 

plants  suffer  from  the  contact  of  fermenting  dung;  and  it  is 
this  well-known  fact,  more  than  from  any  other  circumstance, 
which  deters  farmers  from  applying  dung  in  an  unprepared 
state.  It  is  sometimes  applied  to  the  soil,  it  is  true,  in  an  un- 
prepared state,  but  long  betbre  the  crop  is  brought  into  contact 
with  it,  and  after  it  has  undergone  fermentation  in  tlie  soil. 
Though  this  application  of  dung  is  recommended  by  men  of 
science,  it  is  performed  from  the  very  opposite  principle  which 
they  recommend.  They  recommend  it  because  the  gases 
arising  while  the  dung  is  fermenting  are  absorbed  by  the  soil, 
and  are  thence  given  out  for  the  use  of  plants;  on  the  other 
hand,  farmers  perform  it,  because  the  fermentation  will  have 
ceased  before  the  crop  is  inserted  into  the  ground.  Which  of 
these  is  the  more  rational  reason]  The  practical  one,  un- 
doubtedly; for  it  is  surely  impossible  that  the  slight  covering 
of  earth  upon  the  dung  can  prevent  the  escape  of  the  elastic 
gases,  however  it  may  retard  fermentation. 

'  Moreover,  practice  finds  that  fresh  dung  is  injurious  to 
vegetation,  and  recent  discoveries  now  inform  us  that  this 
arises  from  the  acridity  of  the  ammonia,  which  is  always 
present  in  unfermented  dung.  Fermentation  drives  off  the 
acrid  ammonia.  Fresh  dung  is  found  to  injure  plants  by 
burning  them,  which  is  a  very  appropriate  term  to  describe 
the  action  of  ammonia.  In  like  manner,  stale  liquid  manure 
is  not  so  good  a  top-dressing  to  grass  as  fresh,  or  when  it  is 
largely  mixed  with  water;  because  science  now  informs  us, 
that  ammonia  becomes  concentrated  in  stale  liquid  manure, 
and  is  therefore  in  an  injurious  state  for  plants;  and  that  it  is 
necessary,  to  mix  liquid  manures  largely  with  water,  in  order 
to  dilute  the  ammonia,  and  allow  the  proper  action  of  the 
humic  acid,  which  exists  in  large  quantity  in  them.  Again, 
it  is  not  an  uncommon  practice  to  cover  a  dunghill  with  earth 
in  hot  weather;  and  this  is  now  explained,  not  as  it  hitherto 
has  been — "  that  the  earth  absorbs  and  prevents  the  escape  of 
the  carbonic  acid  gas" — but  that  a  violent  fermentation  in  the 
dung  is  checked  by  the  earth,  partly  excluding  the  atmospheric 
air  and  rain  water,  the  oxygen  in  either  of  which  is  indispen- 
sable to  continue  the  process,  it  being  this  oxygen  which  forms 
the  carbonic  acid  gas  by  uniting  with  the  carbon  of  the  dung. 
The  necessity  of  checking  a  violent  fermentation  in  a  dunghill 
which  contains  a  large  portion  of  horse-dung,  is  to  prevent  it 
being  what  is  technically  called  ''fyrefangit,'" — a  state  in 
which  dung  is  nearly  useless. 


196  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

*We  thus  see  that  science  now  agrees  with  that  practice 
'which  has  been  pursued  for  years  with  unexampled  success. 
It  is  consolatory  to  practitioners  to  think  that  their  experience, 
though  unknowingly  to  them,  has  guided  them  to  succcsfs  on 
really  scientific  principles.  This  agreement  of  experience 
and  science  should  teach  every  one  that  science  and  expe- 
rience, and  not  science  alone,  ought  to  be  made  the  tests  to 
try  the  accuracy  of  opinions;  but  unfortunately  for  the  credit 
of  sciences,  the  test  of  accuracy  hitherto,  in  the  application  of 
putrescent  manures,  has  not  been  submitted  to  practice.' 

We  now  not  only  beg  to  impress  upon  every  farmer  the 
absolute  necessity  of  guarding  against  the  waste  of  any  por- 
tion of  the  farm  dung,  but  also  to  take  care  that  nothing  in 
the  shape  of  refuse  animal  or  vegetable  substance  be  suflered 
to  be  thrown  away  by  his  servants.     Let  a  bed  of  sand,  or  any 
earth  except  clay,  be  laid  in  some  spot  adjacent  to  the  offices, 
and  upon  it  let  every  particle  of  offal  collected  from  the  pre- 
mises be  regularly  thrown;  to  which  add  the  sweepings  of 
the  roads  and  lanes  about  the  house,  grass,  turf,  or  rubbish  dug 
out  of  drains  and  ditches;  every  thing,  in  short,  which,  by  de- 
composition, can  be  converted  into  manure,  and  all  of  which 
may  be  got  together  with  very  little  trouble.     Let  the  whole 
of  this  be  every  now  and  then  covered  with  the  earth,  between 
two  layers  of  which  a  small  quantity  of  quicklime  may  be 
placed,  or  sprinkled  upon  any  vegetable   substance,  sucli  as 
leaves,  tough  haulm,  fern,  or  any  thing  which  cannot  be  easily 
dissolved,  and  thus  formed  into  a  compost.     Care  must  how- 
ever be  taken  that  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  roots  and 
plants  be  completely  destroyed  before  the  compost  is  spread 
upon  the  land,  for  if  unskilfully  prepared,  they  will  shoot  up 
in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  season,  and  overrun  the  land  with 
weeds.     Composts  thus  formed,  whatever  may  be  the  ingre- 
dients which  they  contain,  will  ever  be  found  a  most  valuable 
species  of  manure.     The  whole  substance  becomes  one  uniform 
mass  of  nutritive  matter,  which  may  be  either  mixed  with  the 
soil,  or  applied  as  a  top-dressing,  and,  with  proper  attention, 
may  be  got  ready  for  application  at  any  period  of  the  year. 
There  are  numberless  receipts  scattered  throughout  the  wri- 
tings  of  v^irious   theorists,  in   which    the   quantity   and    the 
quality  of  each  ingredient  in  these  various  mixtures  are  as 
accurately  stated  as  if  they  were  the  medical  prescriptions  of 
physicians;  but  these  are  mere  quackeries  which  do  not  merit 
the  attention  of  practical  men. 


ON  MANURES.  197 

Weeds,  also,  by  the  sides  of  fences,  should  never  be  per- 
mitted to  perfect  their  seeds,  but  should  be  invariably  cut 
while  in  a  state  of  succulence,  and  added  to  the  heap;  and  if 
those  turned  up  by  the  process  of  horse-hoeing  were  also 
raked  otf,  instead  of  being  suffered  to  wither  on  the  land,  or 
to  spring  up  again  with  the  next  shower  of  rain,  it  is  incon- 
ceivable what  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  manure  might  thus 
be  raised  by  the  occasional  employment  of  children,  and  of 
labourers,  who  may  otherwise  be  idling  away  their  time.  It 
would  also  contribute  in  a  great  degree  to  that  neatness  which 
forms  a  distinguished  feature  in  careful  cultivation,  and  would 
insure  a  habit  of  attention  on  the  part  of  servants,  and  a  con- 
sequent portion  of  prosperity  which  can  rarely  be  enjoyed  by 
a  slovenly  farmer. 

Were  the  practice  of  soiling  more  generally  attended  to,  it 
would  also  very  materially  aid  the  increase  of  the  dung-heap, 
without  which  no  profit  can  be  gained  from  arable  land.  But 
a  very  small  portion  of  the  soil  under  the  plough  is,  in  this 
country,  capable  of  bearing  crops,  unless  it  be  recruited  by 
putrescent  manure  about  once  in  four  years,  or  that  it  be 
either  suffered  to  lie  for  a  more  than  usual  length  of  time 
under  the  cultivated  grasses  and  fed  oft'  with  cattle,  or  sup- 
ported by  the  fold.  To  obtain  the  requisite  quantity  of  farm- 
yard manure  has,  however,  baffled  the  best  exertions  of  many 
industrious  farmers,  except  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  large 
towns.  There,  indeed,  the  object  is  often  obtained  through 
the  means  of  purchased  dung,  the  expense  of  which  has  been 
generally  amply  repaid  by  the  growth  of  proportionably  in- 
creased crops;  but  anyone  who  is  dependent  upon  the  produce 
of  his  own  farm,  without  the  assistance  of  extraneous  manure, 
for  the  support  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  should  endeavour  to 
cultivate  those  crops  which  are  best  calculated  to  afford  a 
large  return  of  food  for  the  maintenance  of  cattle.  When  the 
land  is  of  such  a  nature  as  not  to  admit  the  growth  of  green 
crops,  hay  and  oil  cake  should  be 'resorted  to  for  that  purpose. 

In  other  cases,  lime,  chalk,  marl,  and  various  other  mineral 
substances,  have  been  resorted  to  as  auxiliaries;  but  the  effect 
of  some  of  these  tending  more  to  stimulate  vegetation  than  to 
enrich  the  wasted  powers  of  the  soil,  it  has  frequently  hap- 
pened that  ground  which  at  one  time  had  been  greatly  bene- 
fited by  their  application,  has  afterwards  been  injured  when 
repeated  under  the  erroneous  notion  that  its  powers  might  be 
restored  bv  the  same  operation.     Land  thus  forced,  has  in  many 


198  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

cases  been  so  much  impoverished  as  to  render  it  incapable  of 
producinsc  any  thing  but  a  poor  pasture,  and  to  require  a  great 
length  of  time  to  pass  away  before  it  can  be  restored  to  its 
original  condition.  It  should,  indeed,  be  observed,  that  the 
application  of  fossil  manures  requires  more  judgment  and  con- 
sideration than  any  other;  for  vegetable  and  animal  manures 
contain  the  fertilizing  property  within  themselves,  and  however 
injudiciously  applied,  cannot  fail  to  impart  ultimate  benefit  to 
the  land,  if  not  to  the  immediate  crop;  but  the  power  of  fossils 
consists  in  their  action  upon  the  constitution  of  the  soil,  and  if 
this  be  improperly  directed,  the  greatest  mischief  may  ensue. 

None  of  these  has,  perhaps,  produced  more  injury  in  some 
cases,  or  greater  benefit  in  others,  than  lime — of  which  very 
striking  instances  may  be  found  in  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  it  is  either  very  abundant  or  scarce.  In  the  former  it 
has  been  not  uncommonly  laid  upon  the  land  without  the  aid 
of  putrescent  manure,  until  the  soil  has  become  w^orthless; 
while  in  the  latter,  as  its  scarcity  renders  it  expensive,  it  has 
only  been  moderately  used  by  farmers  of  judgment  and  capital, 
and  the  effects,  after  a  number  of  years,  are  still  apparent  in 
the  improvement  of  the  soil.  While  writing  this,  we  have 
under  our  eye  a  farm  of  400  acres  of  strong  clay,  which  has 
not  been  limed  within  the  memory  of  man.  The  tenant,  who 
is  conscious  of  the  advantages  which  might  be  derived  from 
the  use  of  lime — as  demonstrated  in  the  condition  of  adjoining 
land  of  the  same  quality — is  yet  prevented  by  circumstances 
from  its  employment;  and  thus,  not  only  are  his  own  profits, 
but  the  value  of  the  soil  to  the  landlord  also,  equally  reduced. 

On  the  subject  of  burnt  clay,  we  have  recently  had  an 
opportunity  of  making  some  inquiries  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  late  General  Beatson's  farm,  in  Sussex;  and  we  have 
learned,  that  although  several  practical  farmers  in  that  part 
of  the  country  adopted  his  plan,  yet  very  few  of  them  have 
found  it  to  answer  their  expectations.  One  of  them,  who  has 
followed  it  extensively,  confirms  us  in  the  opinion  which  we 
have  already  stated,  that  much  depends  upon  the  mode  in 
which  the  operation  of  burning  is  performed;  for  if  the  clay 
be  calcined  to  the  consistence  of  brick,  it  yields  nothing  in  the 
shape  of  that  soft  ash  which  is  proper  for  manure;  and  if  not 
sufficiently  burned,  it  Will  return  to  its  original  condition.  In 
the  former  state  it  may,  however,  act  in  some  degree  as  an 
alterative  of  the  soil;  and  in  the  latter,  it  will  at  least  afford 
gome  nutriment  to  the  crop  to  which  it  is  actually  applied.     It 


ON  MANURES.  I99 

therefore  does  not  appear,  from  past  experience,  that  it  can 
ever  be  made  to  supersede  the  use  of  lime  on  land  which  has 
not  been  formerly  dressed  with  the  latter;  but  in  such  cases, 
or  in  parts  of  the  country  where  lime  cannot  be  procured,  it 
may  yet  be  employed  to  a  certain  extent  with  advantage. 

As  to  paring  and  burning,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
earth,  if  combined  with  fibrous  roots  and  other  vegetable 
matter,  will  answer  the  purpose  of  manure  when  burned ;  yet 
shallow  soils  are  thus  frequently  more  injured  by  the  abstrac- 
tion of  too  large  a  portion  of  the  surface,  than  improved  by 
the  temporary  addition  of  the  manure.  We  have  lately  seen 
down-land,  which  was  broken  up  during  the  war,  and  has 
been  now  during  several  years  returned  to  pasture,  yet  still 
bears  nothing  like  the  sward  of  a  fine  sheep-walk  on  the 
poorest  chalks,  and  probably  will  require  half  a  century  to 
bring  it  back  to  its  former  condition.  We  therefore  cannot 
but  again  caution  all  farmers  and  owners  of  land  against 
bringing  such  soils  under  the  plough.* 

With  regard  to  gypsum  and  salt  we  have  nothing  to  add, 
except  to  repeat  our  recommendation  of  experiments  on  their 
effects.  Though  quite  aware  of  the  common  sentiment — 'that 
gentlemen  may  use  their  superfluous  cash  for  this  purpose,  but 
farmers  have  uses  enough  for  their  money  in  the  regular 
routine  of  their  business,  and  fe\N  are  so  overburdened  with 
capital  as  to  afford  the  risk  of  its  diminution  by  uncertain 
speculation' — yet  we  entreat  them  to  reflect,  that  experiments 
may  be  tried  with  those  two  articles  upon  a  single  acre ;  that 
the  expense,  if  unsuccessful,  can  only  occasion  the  loss  of  a 
few  shillings;  but  if  they  succeed,  may  be  productive  of  in- 
calculable advantage. 

Neither  respecting  the  various  miscellaneous  substances 
which  we  have  enumerated  have  we  any  further  observation 
to  make  upon  their  respective  properties.  The  fluid  or  dis- 
solved parts  of  animal  matter  require  some  preparatory  process 
to  fit  them  for  manure,  the  great  object  being  to  blend  them 
with  the  soil  in  a  proper  state  of  minute  division;  for  when 
they  have  been  applied  in  a  rank  or  unreduced  state,  bad 

*  A  treatise  has  been  just  published  by  Professor  Rennie,  on  Parin»  and 
Burnin-g,  in  which  he  attributes  whatever  value  it  may  have  to  the  eflfects 
of  the  fire,  considering  it  'in  the  light  of  an  instantaneous  fallow.'  Were 
this  principle  to  be  relied  upon,  it" would  follow  that  paring  and  burning 
might,  within  a  few  years  afterwards,  be  advantageously  repeated;  whereas 
experience  proves  that,  with  whatever  benefit  the  operation  may  be  attended 
in  the  first  instance,  a  repetition  of  it  is  always  found  to  impoverish  the  soil. 
R 


200  A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE 

effects  have  followed.  Train-oil,  blubber,  and  similar  refuse, 
should  therefore  be  made  into  composts  with  a  large  body  of 
earth.*  Rape  and  malt  dust,  requiring  no  mixture,  are  very 
commonly  laid  upon  the  land  as  top-dressings — the  difference 
between  which  and  manure  ploughed  into  the  ground,  is,  that 
the  former  are  applied  chiefly  with  a  view  to  the  sole  benefit 
of  the  immediate  crop,  without  regard  to  the  further  improve- 
ment of  the  soil ;  though  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  the 
crop  be  increased,  the  soil  will  also  feel  their  good  effects.  In 
this  manner  soot  is  also  almost  invariably  used ;  but  its  fer- 
tilizing properties  are  solely  referable  to  the  ammonia  con- 
tained in  it,  which  is  an  active  stimulant  of  vegetation.  The 
practice  of  laying  it  upon  land  which  has  been  limed,  or  of 
mixing  it,  as  sometimes  done,  in  composts  with  lime,  is  tliere- 
fore  injudicious. 

It  has  long  been  a  disputed  question,  whether  all  plants 
extract  the  same  nutritive  juices  from  the  soil,  and  convert 
them  into  the  kind  of  sap  adapted  to  their  peculiar  qualities,  or 
whether  each  is  nourished  by  a  different  substance.  It  would 
at  first  appear  improbable  that  plants  differing  from  each  other 
in  form,  smell,  taste,  and  properties  as  food,  should  be  produced 
by  the  same  matter;  yet,  when  we  reflect  that  different  plants 
deprive  each  other  of  nourishment,  by  extending  their  roots 
into  the  same  soil  in  which  various  kinds  are  planted,  we  can- 
not but  conclude  that  their  first  nutriment  must  be  of  the  same 
nature,  though  the  sap  probably  acquires  different  properties 
in  its  progress  towards  perfection.  This,  however,  is  one  of 
the  secrets  of  vegetation  with  which  we  are  unacquainted; 
but  as  we  also  see  that  some  soils  are  better  adapted  than 
others  for  the  growth  of  particular  kinds  of  grain  and  vege- 
tables, and  that  those  crops  to  which  they  appear  the  most 
favourable  yet  become  deteriorated  if  repeated,  even  though 
regularly  dressed  with  one  species  of  manure,  it  seems  evident 
that  there  must  be  some  advantage  in  the  change  of  manures, 
as  well  as  in  the  system  of  cropping  tillage  land.  This  will 
be  gained  by  every  farmer  who  has  at  his  command  manures 
of  an  unusual  kind,  and  who  understands  their  use,  for  he 
may  then  adopt  many  plans  of  cropping  which  are  out  of  the 
power  of  others  not  similarly  situated,  and  vary  his  rotations 


♦'Tallow  and  oils  received  in  a  crude  state  by  the  roots  may  clog  the 
pores  of  the  plant,  repel  the  aqueous  fluid,  and  obstruct  the  free  communi- 
cation of  the  leaves  with  the  atmosphere.'— Davy  on  Agr.  Chemistry. 


ON  MANURES.  201 

according  to  circumstances  of  the  moment,  or  to  his  own  con- 
venience. 

We  have  already  touched  upon  the  properties  of  alkaline 
manures,  so  far  as  they  have  been  tested  by  experience:  the 
solution  of  the  effects  of  acids  upon  the  soil  must  be  still  left 
to  future  experiments,  for  those  already  made  by  chemists,  in 
many  instances,  present  different  results.  Whatever  may  be 
the  food  of  plants — whether  gases,  oils,  salts,  or  acids — the 
farmer,  however,  need  not  puzzle  himself  about  their  chemical 
qualities,  for  he  may  either  satisfy  himself  from  the  experience 
of  others,  or  by  small  trials  of  his  own,  whether  the  effects  of 
any  particular  species  produce  fertility  or  not.  Farm-yard 
manure  has  been  justly  called  'the  farmer's  magic  wand;'  and 
the  oftener  that  wand  is  waved,  the  more  will  it  contribute  to 
his  prosperity.  He  sees  that  wherever  it  has  been  judiciously 
used,  it  causes  abundant  crops,  and  that  wherever  it  has  been 
withheld,  sterility  seizes  upon  the  soil:  his  chief  efforts  should 
therefore  be  directed  to  its  increase. 

Although  the  time  and  manner  of  applying  every  description 
of  manures  depend  so  much  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
season,  as  well  as  of  the  crops  to  be  sown,  that  no  precise 
rules  can  be  laid  down  for  their  employment,  yet  the  following 
general  hints  may  be  found  useful. 

SXJMMARY. 

When  manures  of  any  kind  are  to  be  used  as  top-dressings 
for  grass,  the  best  season  for  that  purpose  is  as  early  as  prac- 
ticable in  the  month  of  February,  as  the  vernal  showers  will 
then  wash  them  into  the  soil.  If  for  arable  land,  at  the  same 
time  as  the  sowing  of  the  seed,  or  immediately  afler;  but  if 
for  wheat,  when  vegetation  is  about  to  acquire  force  in  the 
spring. 

If  dung  be  applied  to  a  wheat  crop,  it  should  be  ploughed  in 
during  the  course  of  a  summer  fallow;  if  compost,  at  the  last 
ploughing  before  the  seed  furrow ;  but  composts  of  lime  and 
earth  only  may  be  laid  upon  the  land  during  any  period  of 
the  year. 

The  land  should  be  laid  dry ;  and  the  manure  should  be 
equally  and  speedily  spread  over  every  part  of  it,  in  proportion 
to  the  nature  of  the  soil;  but  if  ploughed  in,  though  it  should 
be  well  mixed  with  the  ground,  it  should  not  be  too  deeply 
buried. 


202      A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  MANURES. 

The  stronger  and  the  colder  soils  are,  the  more  manure 
they  require;  and,  as  such  land  is  generally  applied  to  the 
production  of  crops  which  do  not  speedily  attain  their  full 
growth,  the  application  of  dung  which  has  not  been  com- 
pletely decomposed  by  the  putrefactive  process  may  be  there 
admitted;  for  although  the  progress  of  vegetation  may  not  be 
so  rapidly  forwarded,  yet  the  manure  will  at  length  decay,  and 
afford  a  more  gradual  degree  of  nutriment  to  the  present,  and 
greater  support  to  the  land  for  the  production  of  future  crops. 
On  adhesive  land,  long  manure  from  the  farm-yard  also  acting 
mechanically,  by  keeping  the  soil  open,  is  not  so  binding  as 
short  dung;  but  on  dry,  sandy,  hot  soils,  the  dung  should,  on 
the  contrary,  be  perfectly  decomposed,  or  rotten ;  and  manure 
of  any  description  should,  on  such  land,  be  only  laid  on  in 
moderate  quantities  at  one  time.  One  general  observation 
may  be  made  regarding  all  dissertations  on  manure,  which 
is — that  as  there  will  be  different  gradations  both  of  soils  and 
the  substance  of  which  manures  are  composed,  we  can  never 
speak  but  in  general  terms  of  their  application. 

The  following  table  will  explain  how  many  heaps  of  ma- 
nure— each  containing  an  equal  quantity  of  any  given  amount 
— are  required  to  dress  any  field,  per  acre,  at  certain  regular 
distances:  so  that,  by  calculating  the  solid  contents  of  the 
manure  in  cubical  yards,  each  containing  27  bushels,  and 
dividing  it  by  the  number  of  heaps,  the  exact  quantity  to  be 
laid  on  in  each  heap  may  be  correctly  ascertained : — 

No.  of  heaps,  at  5  yards  distance      .     .  193  per  acre, 

5i  "  ...  160  " 

'*       6  "            .     .  134  " 

"       6i  «  ...  114  " 

•'       7  "            .     .  98  " 

"       7i  "  ...  86  " 

"       8  "            .     .  75  '* 


APPENDIX 


In  mixing  compost,  peat  or  charcoal  should  be  used.  They 
are  both  powerful  absorbents,  taking-  up  large  quantities  of  am- 
moniacal  gas,  and  thus  preventing  the  evil  efiects  of  too  high 
a  fermentation. 

Charcoal  has  been  used  at  the  rate  of  fifty  bushels  an  acre, 
and  has  produced  an  enormous  crop.  It  can  be  advantageously 
used  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  should 
be  well  pulverized. 

The  use  of  charcoal  is,  firstly,  to  supply  carbon  to  plants,  in 
the  carbonic  acid  absorbed  fi-om  the  atmosphere ;  and  secondly, 
to  condense  ammoniacal  gas  in  its  pores — which  gas  is  easily 
appropriated  by  plants  to  their  use,  when  the  ground  is  moist. 

The  value  of  decayed  leaves  and  leaf  soil  to  be  found  in  our 
woods  is  immense.  It  is  a  capital  nutriment  for  wheat  in  com- 
bination with  other  matters.     How  much  of  it  is  used  1 

The  following  compost  is  recommended  by  the  American 
Farmer  for  an  acre  of  wheat.  Take  forty  bushels  of  leaf 
mould  (from  the  woods,)  five  bushels  of  ashes,  leached  or  un- 
leached,  five  bushels  of  bone  dust,  one  bushel  of  plaster.  In- 
corporate the  whole  by  shovelling  over,  and  then  moisten  the 
heap  thoroughly  by  thirty  gallons  of  human  urine.  Then 
shovel  it  over  again.  Practically,  we  know  nothing  of  its 
value  in  proportion  to  its  cost.  Theoretically,  it  is  worthy,  and 
should  be  valuable. 

A  general  rule  in  the  application  of  manures  is  to  try  the 
proportions  recommended  in  the  book,  with  such  increase  or 
reduction,  as  your  knowledge  of  your  soil  dictates.  If  you  are 
unaware  of  the  chemical  constituents  of  your  soil,  apply  in  the 
proportions  recommended.  The  second  season  you  can  in- 
crease, if  you  like,  and  compare  the  result, 

B  2  C203) 


204  APPENDIX. 

Goal  ashes  ploughed  into  a  stiff  soil  lighten  it  considerably, 
and  improve  it  in  other  ways. 

The  little  runs  and  creeks  running  through  various  farm? 
afford  a  source  of  manure,  in  the  mud  and  decayed  vegetable 
matter  which  abounds  in  them.     Our  farmers  neglect  this. 

The  application  of  manure  to  the  seed  produces  the  most 
extraordinary  effect.  Last  year  we  soaked  a  gill  of  Indian 
corn  for  a  few  hours  in  as  much  ammonia  and  water  as  would 
cover  them.  We  then  planted  them  in  half-light  soil  without 
manure — planting  the  same  amount  of  seed,  without  the  pre- 
paration, alongside  of  them.  The  contrast  between  the  two, 
in  the  appearance  of  the  plants  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  the 
soaked  seeds,  while  the  crop  was  nearly  double.  We  intend 
to  try  the  experiment,  which  is  of  foreign  origin,  on  a  larger 
scale.  We  do  not  recommend  it  as  yet.  It  may  be  of  doubt- 
ful utility. 

Yard-manures  are  highly  valuable  for  peat-lands. 


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